The remains of Noah's Ark have been found 12,000ft up a Turkish mountain, it was claimed today.
A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers say carbon testing on remains found on Mount Ararat show they are 4,800 years old, around the time when the ark was said to be afloat.
But the group left themselves open to a critical backlash after they failed to reveal the location of their find or produce photographs of the exterior of the site.
The search for the physical remains of Noah's Ark has held a fascination for Christians, Jews and Muslims for hundreds of years. But despite various
claims no scientific evidence has ever been found.
The team of 15 made the announcement of their find yesterday. They brought back from the site wooden remains and strands of rope which they believe was used for keeping animals.
Yeung Wing-cheung, a documentary filmmaker and member of the team from Hong Kong-based Noah's Ark Ministries International, said: 'It's not 100 per cent that it is Noah's Ark but we think it is 99.9 per cent that this is it.'
He said the structure had several compartments, some with wooden beams, which were believed to house animals. However early indications are it was a kind of cypress wood whereas the Bible says it was made of gopher wood.
Members of the Chinese team appeared with Turkish officials at a joint press conference on the evangelicals website where the potential importance of the discovery was hailed.
However Nicholas Purcell, a lecturer in Ancient History at Oxford University, was dismissive of the claims adding that 'these kinds of stories come along pretty regularly'.
'The usual nonsense,' he told MailOnline.
'If floodwaters covered Eurasia 12,000ft deep in 2,800 BC, how did the complex societies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, already many centuries old, keep right on regardless? And dating Noah's Flood to 2,800 BC is arbitrary anyway...'
Over the years there have been numerous hoaxes over the search for the ark. In 1993, George Jammal claimed in a programme shown by CBS that he had 'sacred wood' from the ark.
It was later revealed that he was an actor and that the wood was in fact taken from Californian railroad tracks which had been baked in an oven with various sauces.
The group has refused to say exactly where the discovery was made as they are waiting for the Turkish government to designate the area an archaeological site.
The team, the first of its kind endorsed by the Turkish government, is a joint effort between Hong Kong-based Media Evangelism, Noah's Ark Ministry International and the Turkish government, says the South China Morning Post.
Dr Ahmet Ozbek, geologist at Kahramanmaras Sutcu Iman University in Turkey, told the paper the low temperature and environmental condition of glacier deposits and volcanic material helped preservation at the site.
The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement on the grounds that one had never been found above 3,500m in the vicinity.
But four years ago and following a decade of research, U.S. national security analyst Porcher Taylor claimed a satellite image revealed a baffling 'anomaly' on the mountain's north-west corner that he believed to be the remains of the Ark.
Local Turkish officials will ask the central government in Ankara to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status so the site can be protected and pave the way for a major archaeological dig.
The Noah's Ark Ministries International was formed in 2003 in Hong Kong by a group of evangelical Christians. In that year they made their first expedition to the Mount Ararat to find the ark. Subsequent visits to the area have been carried out in 2004 and 2007.
The biblical story says God decided to flood the earth after seeing how corrupt it had become.
After the flood waters receded, the Bible says, the ark came to rest on a mountain.
Many believe that Mount Ararat is where the ark and her inhabitants came aground.
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5:59
The shocking video Muslims don't want you to see!!by James1vs275,486,390 views
so how did they know about noahs ark? (whoever wrote the 'bible')
brittanyalexis1000 1 day ago
@YaOkRight
Wyatt's site does not match the traditional location claimed by many explorers in earlier centuries when the Ark was actually visible on this mountain. The site in this particular videotape is believed to be the Ararat Anomaly which is located close to where historical explorers claimed the Ark was located. I think we should give this group a second chance at going back and shooting external video.
colliric 1 day ago
coul do without the bullshit music
vingizzel007 1 day ago
@DromeG60 Since the book is not natural the force that brought nature into existence has nothing to do with the book. You just answered your own rebuttal. The bible is synthetic aka man made. Yes I read the book, laughed at it several time especially the talking snake, Noah, Jonah & Whale, & some man named Jesus who was suppose to walk on water, make fish multiply, died, got back up & floated back to outer space. Ya'll Christians like to use the word "God" to cover up your ignorance.
HeruTutankhamun 1 day ago
@HeruTutankhamun Instead of square root of 9 you could just say 3. As for your little theory.... yes the bible is a book, based on a true story. People do write books you idiot, theyre not natural, and if you actually read a bible you would know how it got written. And even if you read about noah which you clearly didn't... you would also know who helped him build the ark. Man built the ark... god brought the animals.
If you want to talk to me again... Say something worth my time. >_>
DromeG60 1 day ago
@DromeG60 Just like the Bible is merely a comic book...its not natural like a flower, the bible did not grow out of the ground which means the force that brought universe into being has nothing to do with that book. So are you saying a hand just came out of the sky and helped Noah build an Ark? Oh how would Noah know about all the animals on Earth were by species or genus. Scientist today are still discovering new species of animals. Your IQ must be less than the square root of 9.
HeruTutankhamun 2 days ago
@DromeG60 then i bid you good day my good man. farewell
karntkatchme 2 days ago
@karntkatchme I didn't ask for a comeback, because I no longer require one from you... so I ended it.
DromeG60 2 days ago
i can't post a comeback because you said nothing worthy of one...
karntkatchme 2 days ago
@karntkatchme Can't confirm that which you know nothing of. But i agree... you did try :L
DromeG60 2 days ago