The following is a Fox News article:
A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers say wooden remains they have discovered on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey are the remains of Noah’s Ark.
The group claims that carbon dating proves the relics are 4,800 years old, meaning they date to around the same time the ark was said to be afloat. Mt. Ararat has long been suspected as the final resting place of the craft by evangelicals and literalists hoping to validate biblical stories.
Yeung Wing-Cheung, from the Noah’s Ark Ministries International research team that made the discovery, said: “It’s not 100 percent that it is Noah’s Ark, but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it.”
There have been several reported discoveries of the remains of Noah’s Ark over the years, most notably a find by archaeologist Ron Wyatt in 1987. At the time, the Turkish government officially declared a national park around his find, a boat-shaped object stretched across the mountains of Ararat.
Nevertheless, the evangelical ministry remains convinced that the current find is in fact more likely to be the actual artifact, calling upon Dutch Ark researcher Gerrit Aalten to verify its legitimacy.
“The significance of this find is that for the first time in history the discovery of Noah’s Ark is well documented and revealed to the worldwide community,” Aalten said at a press conference announcing the find. Citing the many details that match historical accounts of the Ark, he believes it to be a legitimate archaeological discovery.
“There’s a tremendous amount of solid evidence that the structure found on Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey is the legendary Ark of Noah,” said Aalten.
Representatives of Noah’s Ark Ministries said the structure contained several compartments, some with wooden beams, that they believe were used to house animals.The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement on the grounds none have ever been found above 11,000 feet in the vicinity, Yeung said.
During the press conference, team member Panda Lee described visiting the site. “In October 2008, I climbed the mountain with the Turkish team. At an elevation of more than 4,000 meters, I saw a structure built with plank-like timber. Each plank was about 8 inches wide. I could see tenons, proof of ancient construction predating the use of metal nails.”
We walked about 100 meters to another site. I could see broken wood fragments embedded in a glacier, and some 20 meters long. I surveyed the landscape and found that the wooden structure was permanently covered by ice and volcanic rocks.”
Local Turkish officials will ask the central government in Ankara to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status so the site can be protected while a major archaeological dig is conducted.
The biblical story says that God decided to flood the Earth after seeing how corrupt it was. He then told Noah to build an ark and fill it with two of every animal species.
After the flood waters receded, the Bible says, the ark came to rest on a mountain. Many believe that Mount Ararat, the highest point in the region, is where the ark and her inhabitants ran aground.
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21 Responses
Be skeptical. I doubt these guys can even read Hebrew.
Yeah, right. This will probably turn out to be a hoax.
Carbon dating is shekker and we all know that. In fact it was the mabul that made it not reliable! So I don’t trust this story – this is just the scientists way of trying to get us to believe their shekker.
Was it missing the beam used to hang Haman HaRasha?
#4 i think noach replaced it when hamen beat him in the tug of war, although i see noach is still stuck in the ‘megilah’ (maybe there were 2 noachs just like ‘noach dear’ zol zein gezunt?
akuperma: with no intention of disrespect, what does the ability to read Hebrew have to do with scientific or other knowledge? Even Moses (were he here) would probably be unable to read Hebrew (he most likely was only exposed to ktav ivri).
rebetzin: you never know, just look at the mesha stele, the siloan inscription, and plenty of other biblical artifacts that archaeologists have unearthed.
berelshain: “shekker”!? since when does carbon lie? and how exactly did the mabul “make it not reliable”, pray? and what exactly are these “scientists” trying to make us believe–read the story–its a group of evangelists (look up the wiki). theyre trying to prove the veracity of the Torah (so that we can hand it over to them a couple centuries later ;).
mark levin: i hope youre kidding. its an aggada.
akuperman thinks reading Hebrew is a prerequisite to finding the teva.
Likewise he thinks you have to read Chinese to find your MP3 player.
maybe it was one of the beams of the ladder from Yaakov’s dream…
Attn: Mark Levin
The source for your question is in the Medresh Esther, in the name of the Yalkut. However, the Gemorah in Sanhedrin 96a, and the Medresh Talpiot (anaf Achashverosh) seems to be in conflict regarding the Yalkut.
For a possible resolution, see Rav Shlomo Hakohen (the Gavad of Vilna) in his haskama on the sefer Rav Pa’alim (author – Rav Avraham ben H”gra), where he eventually concludes that the medrashim are indeed in conflict.
Regardless, other than strengthening one’s emunah (if lacking), only one practical “nafka mina” may possibly result from this historical find. That specifically is, how large indeed is an Amah?
However, past archeologists and researchers, have concluded that due to the dramatically cold weather, the “structure” cracked in half many years ago, and they now lay some 200 meters apart. That might make the precise measurements, in determining the size of an Ama very difficult.
9, I was being somewhat sarcastic. I didn’t know most of what you said & ilook forward to learning the gemora in about 2+ weeks when we get up to it with the daf.
Yasher Koach!
Mark Levin,
Or perhaps, the midrash isn’t meant to be taken as literally, historically true.
After all, for Haman to go from Shushan to Ararat, find the ark, extract a fifty-cubit plank from it and return to Shushan (with the plank) in three day’s time (to be back in time for Esther’s feast) would be quite the feat.
The Wolf
It seems the only one with seichal and uses his common sense is Ahiqar. Keep posting you’re truly a voice of reason.
National Geographic televised this finding approximately 25 years ago. What else is new?
Ahiqar – if we are to believe that carbon dating is correct then we have to believe that the world is millions of years old which we know it isn’t. What’s next, that we come from monkeys? Science has been proven wrong again and again. There’s no reason to start believing scientists now.
BSD
Number 11: Why couldn’t Haman go to Turkey & return to Shushan w’in 3 days? Didn’t Eliezer, the servant of Avrohom Avinu make it all the way to Rivkah’s house in just one day (when the meforshim tell us it was a 3 days journey). When HaShem wants something to happen, guess what? It happens!! The mere fact that Noach was capable of building a boat that large, that it floated through the mabul w’out leakage or drowning, is in itself a miracle (especially w’out nails or electric saws, glue, & other building equipment).
I do not have any question as to whether Haman could make it there and back w’in three days. Persia and Turkey aren’t so far away from each other, either.
akupermana, I don’t think there would even be any Hebrew for these explorers to read!
“Carbon dating is shekker and we all know that. In fact it was the mabul that made it not reliable! So I don’t trust this story – this is just the scientists way of trying to get us to believe their shekker.”
Most contemporary chemistry would tell you that carbon dating is flawed, but if the mabul is the resaon for that, or as others have suggested, that the “carbon age” of the world was placed in to the briah, that would not effect its accuracy for events that took place AFTER the mabul. Think about it.
Why couldn’t Haman go to Turkey & return to Shushan w’in 3 days? Didn’t Eliezer, the servant of Avrohom Avinu make it all the way to Rivkah’s house in just one day (when the meforshim tell us it was a 3 days journey).
So, it’s your contention that because a miracle happened to Eliezer, it *must* have happened for Haman too? Keep in mind, this is not taking into account mountain climbing time, deconstruction time or a return trip (none of which Eliezer had to deal with).
When HaShem wants something to happen, guess what? It happens!!
How do you know HaShem wanted this to happen?
Persia and Turkey aren’t so far away from each other, either.
For travel standards of the day, they were well more than three days apart.
The Wolf
#14 How do we “know” that the world is not millions of years old? Where does it say that? Many meforshim talk about the fact that we don’t know what took place before Adam was created and how long of a time period it was.
The reason that it is significant that “‘these guys cannot read Hebrew” is revealed by the wording in the article “Mt. Ararat has long been suspected as the final resting place of the craft.” It does not say that they ‘claim’ or ‘believe’ but that they suspect.
To explain more clearly what I mean, I recount an article that I read a few years ago. At the time, satellite photos had been taken of the area, showing a large dark mass buried beneath the ice. The article went on the explain that the Ararat Mountains might be the resting place for the Ark, because the ‘Bible’ says that it came to rest on the Urartu Mountain Range (or some garbage like that.) The article then went on the expound how Urartu is similar to Ararat blah blah blah. It was perfectly clear to me that the reporter had no clue that the original Bible was not written in English, and it specifically says Ararat in Hebrew!!
Dear All
Wether their scientific tests are right or not, one thing they are approving is that the Torah is Emes. The only way we know about the story of Noach and the teivo is from the Torah. Those apikorsim are not realising that they are proving themeselves facts from the Torah, whilst denying other facts.
Anyway why is the wood no longer covered on both sides with Pitch as written in the Torah?
How come the wood didn’t rot over so many years?