Noah's Ark Found!

Early in 2010 a group of researchers reported a discovery on Mount Ararat in Turkey. According to the team they are 99.9 percent certain what they found are the remains of Noah's Ark the Biblical ship which carried Noah and his family as well all the animals of the world to safety during a world wide flood. If true, it would undoubtedly be the greatest archeological find in the history of man. If true, this single discovery could cause scholars to re-write text books and re-think their many theories. What will it take to prove their claims correct, and is it even possible to do so?

Thus far the researchers are keeping the location of the find secret. They claim they want to protect the site, which is understandable and reasonable. This will only hold true for a short period of time. While the group plans to release a documentary film on the discovery which is said to contain a great deal of new film footage, they must eventually allow outside experts to examine the site. Some experts consider this reluctance to divulge the location as a sign of a hoax. Until it is proven otherwise, I will assume these people are not outright liars and have discovered, 'something'.

If the information on the Noah's Ark Ministries International website is accurate, the find is much too large to be a simple shepherd's shelter as some have speculated. Regardless of what it is, it is very interesting. If a structure, who built it, and why did they build it 12,000+ feet up the mountain? For now, the question remains, is this Noah's Ark?

For this find to be confirmed as Noah's Ark, several things must happen. First, the site must be opened up to independent researchers to examine what is there. Once this is done the most obvious course would be to determine if the find was a structure, such as a large house or barn, or a boat. This should be possible by locating the base of the structure/boat. If it is found to be a boat or sea going vessel, what does this prove?

It proves someone at some time built a very large boat, nothing more. This would however lead to the next very important question. Was the boat built where it was found or was it built elsewhere? If built at the site where it was found, it would still be very interesting, but would not confirm a flood or the Noah's Ark story. It would still lead to some very interesting questions however. Just who built a ship of this size, and why did they build it 12,000 feet up the side of a mountain?

If it can be proven the structure is in fact a boat, and by examining the structure, the wood materials used, and perhaps the ballast - it can be determined the boat was indeed built elsewhere, then you have made a huge step forward. If this can be proven it must then be assumed the boat landed on the mountain, approximately 12,000 feet up, as the result of floating there. This would seem to confirm there was indeed a world wide flood of some significance and would open up more questions than can be listed here.

It is obvious the researchers have a great deal of work left ahead of them before their discovery can be confirmed as Noah's Ark and in turn confirm the world wide flood. While not yet convinced of what they have found, I am watching with great interest to see if they can take the next step toward confirming what they have actually discovered. Whatever it is, it is certainly interesting, and certainly worth following.