# So, Has NOAH's ARK Been Found? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488 "2006-06-20T21:54:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/1 "2006-06-20T21:54:07Z")
Eery so often, the crank press brings up the myth about the “Noah’s Ark”. Invariably, they say that an expedition to Mt. Ararat found the boat, but had to turn back. So, I assume a bunch of fundamentalists have been swarming all over Mt. Ararat for yeras-so what’s been found, and is it a boat? ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/2 "2006-06-20T22:15:33Z")
Short answer: No. And they won’t. I think someone found a piece of wood a few years back and claimed it was ancient. Also I saw some history channel hokum about some giant stones that look _just like_ they _might_ have been used as anchors. It was the typical History Channel tripe, mainly along the lines of “Well, we didn’t really find anything, but we also didn’t find anything proving its NOT here, so we are just going to go ahead and assume it’s true.” ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/3 "2006-06-20T22:36:18Z")
To be clear: I would be less surprised if someone found the Ark of the Covenant than I would Noah’s Ark. So, I agree with Cynical Gabe. > [@ralph124c](#): > > -so what’s been found, and is it a boat? The only real serious contender left on Ararat is the so-called [Ararat Anomaly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ararat_anomaly) of which wiki can say: \*The “Noah’s Ark” claims are not taken seriously by mainstream archaeology, many of whom claim it to be a rock formation. This belief is countered by the fact that the object seems to have moved since its initial discovery; however there are many theories to explain this. Some of these theories point to the insufficient technology of the mid 20th century to adequately chart its location, and some others say that it could be a rock formation that broke off from its original location and has since been moved by the glacier it is caught in. One argument claimed in support of the anomaly being Noah’s Ark is that they share a 6 to 1 ratio. According to Scripture Noah’s Ark was 300 by 50 cubits, 6 times as long as it was wide. The anomaly is roughly 1,015 by 170 feet, which is indeed roughly 6 times longer than it is wide. But one cubit is equivalent to 18 inches, so 300 cubits is 450 feet, not 1,015 feet. Moreover the 6:1 ratio is a fairly common ratio in nature, so it would not be an extraordinarily impressive coincidence. The Defence Intelligence Agency, which has custody of the images, has analysed the anomaly as showing "linear facades in the glacial ice underlying more recently accumulated ice and snow\* " ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/4 "2006-06-20T22:53:30Z")
There is evidence that the Black Sea was quickly flooded. Therefore it could have been the site of Noah’s flood. Wonder if anyone has looked in that area instead of Mt. Ararat. ---
**Author:** ![happywaffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ee59a6/32.png) [@happywaffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happywaffle)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/5 "2006-06-20T22:56:31Z")
Yeah, not to jack the thread, but what’s the story on the Black Sea flooding being the origin of the Flood Story in all the cultures? I thought that was pretty interesting but forget where I read it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/6 "2006-06-20T23:02:48Z")
There wouldn’t be an ark regardless. The Noah story is just one variation of an older sumerian myth. I wonder why none of thse ark hunters ever consider the possibility that the so-called “anomaly” could be [Utnapishtam’s Ark](http://www.studylit.com/summaries/gilgamesh.htm). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/7 "2006-06-20T23:13:24Z")
> [@happywaffle](#): > > Yeah, not to jack the thread, but what’s the story on the Black Sea flooding being the origin of the Flood Story in all the cultures? I thought that was pretty interesting but forget where I read it. [Black Sea deluge theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_theory) An interesting hypothesis. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/8 "2006-06-20T23:32:53Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There wouldn’t be an ark regardless. The Noah story is just one variation of an older sumerian myth. I wonder why none of thse ark hunters ever consider the possibility that the so-called “anomaly” could be [Utnapishtam’s Ark](http://www.studylit.com/summaries/gilgamesh.htm). Thank you! I knew about the older myth, but couldn’t remember the name. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/9 "2006-06-20T23:36:27Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > [Black Sea deluge theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_theory) > > An interesting hypothesis. It is interesting. I hadn’t realized that it was disputed- I thought it was a commonly accepted theory these days. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/10 "2006-06-20T23:39:11Z")
Yes, it’s been found and re-found numerous times. However it somehow always turns out that they ran out of film or didn’t take the lens cap off. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/11 "2006-06-21T05:37:49Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Invariably, they say that an expedition to Mt. Ararat found the boat Unlikely, since that’s not exactly where the bible says it ended up anyway: > [@](#): > > Gen 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. Mount Ararat is simply one of hundreds of mountains in the area covered by the Kingdom of Ararat; the highest, it is true, but there’s no particular reason to believe it was the one referred to (leaving aside the fact that the whole story is a retelling of an ancient myth anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/12 "2006-06-21T05:49:05Z")
[QUOTE=jimmmy] To be clear: I would be less surprised if someone found the Ark of the Covenant than I would Noah’s Ark. So, I agree with Cynical Gabe. _That_ is the best they can come up with? And no one has even been up the mountain to even check it out? Wow. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/13 "2006-06-21T05:50:24Z")
Oops, excuse me. I meant to quote the part with the Wiki link in it. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/14 "2006-06-21T05:52:46Z")
So how many adults actually believe the Noah’s ark story, as written in the Bible, nowadays? I would hope that it would be very few. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/15 "2006-06-21T05:53:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It is interesting. I hadn’t realized that it was disputed- I thought it was a commonly accepted theory these days. It is commonly accepted-- on The History Channel. 🙂 I think something like this would be extremely hard, if not impossible, to prove. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/16 "2006-06-21T12:33:23Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > _That_ is the best they can come up with? And no one has even been up the mountain to even check it out? Wow. :rolleyes: Since Biblical literalists have hovered around Ararat for years claiming this or that I think it is more accurate to say the best chance left, rather than the best they ever came up with. In my view there were two distinct eras of searchers. The first era was based on local legends and purported sightings. This was based on rumor & long standing local legend (In the first century Josephus says he heard the Ark was in (now) Eastern Turkey), and possibly fueled a bit by local scammers separating credulous expeditions from their money. Eventually in the 20th Century a second era opened up with the advent of aerial and satellite photos – an era that we are now nearing the end of and of which the Ararat Anomaly is really the last, best hope of literalists who believe an Ark is on Ararat. Photos from Airplanes began to intrigue some in my view, (and this has so far borne out and I think is SDGQ to say it), the way you can see faces on Mars or castles in the clouds if you look hard enough and expect to find something. That has happened several times and all come to nothing. This era has included some heavy weight folks and money and has always tried to wrap itself in the veneer of “science” – including most notably the Astronaut Jim Irwin in the 1980’s. Like the UFO/Bigfoot Industry a whole bunch of books from the 50-80’s were published which included stories of secret Russian/Smithsonian/National Geographic expeditions… but they were meant to sell books/videos and just muddy our waters. Again, most of the charges made by this Industry (& that is what it was) have proved false or have never offered a shred of proof beyond Noah literalists citing each others work. So to repeat myself: the AA is best chance left, rather than the best they ever came up with. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/17 "2006-06-21T13:20:34Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > So how many adults actually believe the Noah’s ark story, as written in the Bible, nowadays? I would hope that it would be very few. It goes pretty much hand-in-hand with Young Earth Creationism, which _is_ dead, but won’t lie down. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/18 "2006-06-21T14:32:05Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There wouldn’t be an ark regardless. The Noah story is just one variation of an older sumerian myth. I wonder why none of thse ark hunters ever consider the possibility that the so-called “anomaly” could be [Utnapishtam’s Ark](http://www.studylit.com/summaries/gilgamesh.htm). That’s because Noah is easier to spell than Utnapishtam 🙂 > [@CurtC](#): > > So how many adults actually believe the Noah’s ark story, as written in the Bible, nowadays? I would hope that it would be very few. Far, far too many. Probably a good majority of the people I grew up with, my family, etc. believe that story to be true. And damn the lack of evidence… to quote, “If God wanted to flood the earth and not leave a trace of the Flood, then He can do that. He created the whole universe in one week, He can do anything.” :rolleyes: FWIW, it was my realization that the “Noah’s Flood is True” meme (of sorts) was false and in the current day and age quite possibly a bloody lie too by the upper, educated theologans that caused my first crisis of faith which has led, to the end to weak atheism. So, there is hope for my family and home town 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/19 "2006-06-21T16:16:47Z")
> [@jimmmy](#): > > Since Biblical literalists have hovered around Ararat for years claiming this or that I think it is more accurate to say the best chance left, rather than the best they ever came up with. In my view there were two distinct eras of searchers. > > The first era was based on local legends and purported sightings. This was based on rumor & long standing local legend (In the first century Josephus says he heard the Ark was in (now) Eastern Turkey), and possibly fueled a bit by local scammers separating credulous expeditions from their money. > > Eventually in the 20th Century a second era opened up with the advent of aerial and satellite photos – an era that we are now nearing the end of and of which the Ararat Anomaly is really the last, best hope of literalists who believe an Ark is on Ararat. Photos from Airplanes began to intrigue some in my view, (and this has so far borne out and I think is SDGQ to say it), the way you can see faces on Mars or castles in the clouds if you look hard enough and expect to find something. That has happened several times and all come to nothing. This era has included some heavy weight folks and money and has always tried to wrap itself in the veneer of “science” – including most notably the Astronaut Jim Irwin in the 1980’s. Like the UFO/Bigfoot Industry a whole bunch of books from the 50-80’s were published which included stories of secret Russian/Smithsonian/National Geographic expeditions… but they were meant to sell books/videos and just muddy our waters. Again, most of the charges made by this Industry (& that is what it was) have proved false or have never offered a shred of proof beyond Noah literalists citing each others work. > > So to repeat myself: the AA is best chance left, rather than the best they ever came up with. Thanks for mentioning UFOs-did you see that mess on The hitler channel? ("MEXICO’S ROSWELL)? Same old crap- film of grainey objects in the sky (they looked like Christmas ornaments on a tring). plus interviews with mexican journalists. So what? This stuff is just so boring! Can any UFO beliver please send me a believable picture of one of these things? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488/20 "2006-06-21T17:01:46Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > That’s because Noah is easier to spell than Utnapishtam 🙂 Probably just a _bit_ less money in finding Utnapishtam’s ark, too. I imagine that an archaeologist looking for Noah would be pretty disappointed if he found the other ark. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-has-noahs-ark-been-found/361488.md?page=2)