Expedition Will Seek to Find Noah's Ark

Fox News ^ | April 26, 2004 | AP

[HarleyD]

An expedition is being planned for this summer to the upper reaches of Turkey's Mount Ararat where organizers hope to prove an object nestled amid the snow and ice is Noah's Ark.

A joint U.S.-Turkish team of 10 explorers plans to make the arduous trek up Turkey's tallest mountain, at 17,820 feet, from July 15 to August 15, subject to the approval of the Turkish government, said Daniel P. McGivern, president of Shamrock_The Trinity Corporation of Honolulu, Hawaii.

[HarleyD]

An expedition is being planned for this summer to the upper reaches of Turkey's Mount Ararat where organizers hope to prove an object nestled amid the snow and ice is Noah's Ark.

A joint U.S.-Turkish team of 10 explorers plans to make the arduous trek up Turkey's tallest mountain, at 17,820 feet, from July 15 to August 15, subject to the approval of the Turkish government, said Daniel P. McGivern, president of Shamrock_The Trinity Corporation of Honolulu, Hawaii.

The goal: to enter what they believe to be a mammoth structure some 45 feet high, 75 feet wide and up to 450 feet long that was exposed in part by last summer's heat wave in Europe.

"We are not excavating it. We are not taking any artifacts. We're going to photograph it and, God willing, you're all going to see it," McGivern said.

Explorers have long searched for an ark on the high slopes of Mount Ararat, where the biblical account of the Great Flood places it.

In 1957, Turkish air force pilots spotted a boat-shaped formation in Agri province. The government did not pursue the sighting, however. The entire area, including Mount Ararat, was off limits to foreigners because of Soviet complaints that explorers were U.S. spies.

That ban was lifted in 1982, and since then teams of explorers have visited the area but have been unable to substantiate any claim of an ark.

McGivern and Ahmet Ali Arslan, a Turkish mountain climber who grew up in a town near Mount Ararat, say satellite photos have helped them pinpoint a more exact location. Arslan will be leading the expedition.

The biblical account in the Book of Genesis (search) says that after the great deluge, the ark came to rest on the mountain with Noah's family and a cargo of male and female pairs of every kind of animal.

Geologists say even though there is evidence of a flood in Mesopotamia in Sumerian times, it is not possible for a ship to make landfall at an altitude as high as Mount Ararat.

Interesting satelite pictures of this at:

Noah's Ark Satelite Pictures

[HarleyD]

If the ark was made of gopher wood wouldn't it have decayed by now? (Not that gopher wood wasn't sturdy.)

[Destro]

In the moving glacier ice of Ararat the wood would have been ground to duist.

[HarleyD]

This reminds me somewhat of the "Face on Mars" which some thought was an ancient ruin on Mars but turned out to be shadows playing tricks. But I was a little curious if the wood could have become petrified? Considering Mt Ararat is an active volcano, there is snow and water, and undoubtedly a covering of debris it seems to have all the actives ingredients for becoming petrified. Here's an excerpt on the petrifying process from:

http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/jan/papr/rock.html

What is petrification?

The process of petrification begins with three raw ingredients: wood, water and mud. Petrification of the wood found in the Petrified Forest began during the Triassic Period when the primitive coinfers fell to the ground and into the waterways on a journey through time. The logs were swept and tumbled downstream with sediment and other debris. The streams traveled through a plain of lakes and swamps were wood, sediment and debris were deposited along the way.

In fact, 400 feet of sediments were deposited in the plain by the rivers that originated from the volcanic mountain range. The layer of sediments is known today as the Chinle Formation. As the logs were deposited in the plain they were buried with mud, water and debris. This is when the petrification process began.

The mud that covered the logs contained volcanic ash which was a key ingredient in the petrification process. When the volcanic ash began to decompose it released chemicals into the water and mud. As the water seeped into the wood the chemicals from the volcanic ash reacted to the wood and formed into quartz crystals. As the crystals grew over time, the wood became encased in the crystals which over millions of years, turned the wood into stone.

[aimhigh]

Geologists (NOT BELIEVING IN THE POWER OF GOD) say even though there is evidence of a flood in Mesopotamia in Sumerian times, it is not possible for a ship to make landfall at an altitude as high as Mount Ararat.

[Revelation 911]

Noah'

Noah Sark....get it ?

[flevit]

I was not aware of how firm a tradition the "sightings" are....


http://www.home.earthlink.net/~arktracker/ark/Sightings.html

[HarleyD]

Seems like the Ark had more visitors than DisneyWorld. :O)

I was intrigued by this one note:

1647 AD - Adam Olearius' Voyage and Travels of the Ambassadors relates Armenian and Persian stories of the petrified Ark.

The mention of it being petrified fits with how petrified wood is created and all the right ingredients listed in my earlier post. I'm not an expert on the history of petrified wood but I doubt if they knew how it was made back in 1647.

Hmmmm...this is becoming rather interesting. If they do find a large petrified ship up there it will certainly be the find of the century for the rest of the century.

[ceoguy]

If you read the account in Genesis, you will note that God instructed Noah to "pitch it within and without". Wood that is total covered in heavy pitch (tar) would be preserved for thousands of years. It's my belief that God told him to build it for the purpose of preservation and thus as a witness to people that there was indeed a flood.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

More searching for meaningless icons.

The Elect believe because God gave them faith in the unseen Christ, not because they hold a piece of wood or see a burning bush.

[HarleyD]

The problem with icons is they tend to become objects of worship much like Moses' brazen serpent did that later was destroyed by King Hezekiah. If they found Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant (last rumored in Washington DC), or the burial cloth of Christ most likely it would become a thing worshiped. While atheist will say a ship on Mount Ararat proves nothing others will build a shrine around Noah's Ark selling Beany Babies animals. In the end it will prove nothing.

[Desdemona]

Another expedition to Noah's Ark? There have been several. So long as the glaciers are large, I understand it's hard to see. One expedition did bring back a sample of the object and it carbon dated to the right time period. It also IS gopher wood. There was a geological survey done and the flood did happen. Why are they bothering?

The other thing to remember about Noah's Ark - it's the only biblical story the appears in the art work of indiginous people on EVERY continent. That's the one that needs explaining.

Oh, and the Ark of the Covenant has been said to be in Ethiopia for the last 1,900 years in a town called Oxham (I'm not sure of the spelling). There is a church or temple and there is a guard. They won't let anyone in to see it, though. But tradition puts it there.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

The problem with icons is they tend to become objects of worship much like Moses' brazen serpent did that later was destroyed by King Hezekiah.

Kind of like "The Passion of the Christ":)

Becky

[asformeandformyhouse]

The Elect believe because God gave them faith in the unseen Christ, not because they hold a piece of wood or see a burning bush.

So many doubting Thomas' in the world.

John 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe

[Dr. Eckleburg]

"...blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe."

Amen. Immeasurable comfort.