(TheIndependentStar.com) – A potentially groundbreaking discovery suggests that humans might have been present at what some believe are the “ruins of Noah’s Ark” located in Turkey’s eastern mountains.
Recently released study results indicate the presence of “clayey materials, marine materials and seafood” in this region, dating back to between 5500 and 3000 BC, as reported by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
Three universities from Turkey and the US initiated this research in 2021, culminating in the formation of the “Mount Ararat and Noah’s Ark Research Team.” Their primary focus was the scientific investigation of the ruins, which have suffered damage from landslides. The team’s inaugural study took place in December 2022.
The Durupinar formation, located in the Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı near the Iran-Turkey border, is a unique geographic feature spanning 538 feet. Composed of limonite, some believe it to be the fossilized remnants of Noah’s Ark. Scientists gathered nearly 30 rock and soil samples from this site, which were later analyzed at Istanbul Technical University. These samples were dated to be between 3500 and 5000 years old, aligning with the timeline of the biblical flood.
Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Faruk Kaya of Agri Ibrahim Cecen University explained, “According to the first findings obtained from the studies, it is thought that there have been human activities in the region since the Chalcolithic period, that is, between the years 5500 and 3000 BC.” He further mentioned, “It is known that the flood of Prophet Noah went back 5 thousand years ago.”
This formation’s dimensions closely match the biblical description of the ark in the Book of Genesis: “a length of three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.” According to biblical accounts, Noah was instructed by God to construct the ark and populate it with pairs of every animal species in anticipation of a worldwide flood.
Interestingly, the Durupinar site is 18 miles south of the Greater Mount Ararat summit. The Bible’s Book of Genesis calls this location the ark’s final resting place. While references to Noah and the ark appear in the holy texts of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, their veracity remains undetermined by scientists.
The Durupinar formation was first identified in 1951 by Turkish Army Captain Ilhan Durupinar during a NATO mapping mission, although a Kurdish farmer had discovered it three years earlier.
