Is the Boat Found on Mount Ararat Noah’s Ark?

When a giant boat was apparently discovered about 2000 meters above sea level on Mount Ararat in 1959, speculation began to arise over whether this could be Noah’s Ark.

The Biblical account of Noah’s Ark famously tells of God sending a great flood that covered the entire earth to wipe out wicked humans. Noah and his family, following God’s direction, built an enormous ark to save themselves and representatives of every kind of animal. After the flood, the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Has Noah’s Ark been found, and what does the evidence say?

Did the Great Flood actually happen?

Of course, the idea that the Ark even could be found is based on the premise that the Great Flood was a real event. Many religious people around the world believe in the Bible’s account. Even Jesus Christ believed in it, referring to it as a historical event more than once.

Many modern-day creationists argue that there is scientific evidence for the Flood. They generally claim that virtually the entire geologic column in which all fossils are found formed during the Flood. The fact that fossils usually rest in fluvial sediments is supposedly evidence of this.

On the other hand, scientists point out that we find a consistent order to the appearance of different species in the geologic column around the world. If all these fossils were laid down during the Flood, we would expect to see the different species in completely random positions relative to each other in different regions.

More plausibly, some have associated the origin of the account of Noah’s Ark with catastrophic flooding that occurred during the Pleistocene Era (the ‘Ice Ages’).

Another example is that in the bible, it says that Noah's Arks rests on Mount Ararat. If you look up "Mt. Ararat Noah's Ark" on google, you can clearly see Noah's Ark covered in grass/dirt on the mountain. How can you confidently say that the bible isn't correct w/ this evidence pic.twitter.com/nRlGXNfCUX

— Kermitwastrapped (@Kermitistrapped) December 13, 2023

Has anyone found Noah’s Ark?

In modern times, countless expeditions have gone to Mount Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark. There are many accounts from the nineteenth century of people (sometimes even single individuals) supposedly finding it. Many supposedly successful expeditions also took place during the twentieth century. Some of these accounts are undoubtedly from sincere individuals who simply suffered from wishful thinking.

However, others show evidence of dishonesty. For example, some groups bribed their way onto Mount Ararat when they did not have official permission to travel there. If a group resorts to bribery to achieve their aims, it certainly raises questions about the honesty of their supposed findings.

The search to find Noah’s Ark is not easy. One reason is because Mount Ararat is covered in snow. Another reason is that it can be very expensive and politically difficult to organize an expedition there.

The Durupinar formation

One of the most famous sites where Noah’s Ark has supposedly been found is the Durupinar formation. This site is not actually on Mount Ararat. Rather, it is on Mount Tendürek. Nonetheless, this is compatible with the location described in the Bible. Contrary to popular belief, it does not actually say that the Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat. It says that the Ark came to rest on ‘the mountains of Ararat.’

Ararat was the region elsewhere known as Urartu. Therefore, the Bible’s description is compatible with any of the mountains in that whole region. Mount Tendürek is very close to Mount Ararat.

On this mountain is a formation which superficially looks like an enormous boat. It is approximately 157 meters long and 86 meters wide. According to some interpretations, this matches the dimensions that the Bible provides for Noah’s Ark. The formation appears to be rock, which some claim is actually petrified wood.

Recently, there have been recent news reports of supporting evidence for this location. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of human activity at the site.

Has Noah’s Ark been found at the Durupinar formation?

Despite the hype from old discoveries and new archaeological research, it is clear that the Durupinar formation is not Noah’s Ark. There are quite a few reasons why we can say that researchers have not found Noah’s Ark at this site.

For one thing, it is simply the wrong shape. The word that the Bible uses for ‘ark’ literally just means a chest. In other words, it had angular sides like a box. This is borne out by other legends of the flood which evidently stem from the same origin.

In the Babylonian myth of Gilgamesh, the ark is a giant box. In the Greek myth of Deucalion, the ark is a rectangular chest. On the other hand, the Durupinar formation is curved like a traditional boat.

Secondly, the evidence is clear that the Durupinar formation is natural rather than man-made. The formation is not petrified wood but simply rock. In fact, all around this formation are similar long protrusions of rock from the ground. It just so happens that these particular protrusions form the shape of a boat.

The recently-discovered evidence of human activity at this site is also insignificant. There is nothing about it which indicates that this is where Noah’s Ark landed. In other words, there is no basis for saying that these most recent—or any previous for that matter—researchers have found Noah’s Ark.