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High on Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey, there is a baffling mountainside "anomaly," a feature that one researcher claims may be something of biblical proportions.
Images taken by aircraft, intelligence-gathering satellites and commercial remote-sensing spacecraft are fueling an intensive study of the intriguing oddity. But whether the anomaly is some geological quirk of nature, playful shadows, a human-made structure of some sort, or simply nothing at all -- that remains to be seen.
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If you squint, you can see the pairs of footprints leading off to the north.
Posts: 420 | From: Oxford, PA | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Are you sure it's not the left elbow of Elvis?
Why are they looking at satellite imagery? It's not like it's on the moon. It would be trivial to actually go to the site and check it out on the ground instead of overanalyzing spurious pixels from space. So trivial in fact, that they probably already have done it and keep very quiet about the perfectly ordinary rock they found.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Troberg: Are you sure it's not the left elbow of Elvis?
Why are they looking at satellite imagery? It's not like it's on the moon. It would be trivial to actually go to the site and check it out on the ground instead of overanalyzing spurious pixels from space. So trivial in fact, that they probably already have done it and keep very quiet about the perfectly ordinary rock they found.
I don't know how easy it would be to get an alpine-trained research team to that remote corner of Turkey.
But that's a moot point. Since Ararat sits on a border zone, the Turkish government long, long ago closed off that area to travel in the interest of national security. Several requests by archaeologists and Biblical researchers have not swayed their decision.
-------------------- See, if I tell you about it, it won't be a mystery. It'll just be a fact, an ugly, moist fact, squatting on your brain like an octopus. And you don't want an octopus squatting on your brain, do you, son? -- Stan Smith, American Dad Posts: 980 | From: Virginia | Registered: Dec 2005
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I would love for someone to find the remains of Noah's Ark. If it exists though, it would be approx 6000 years old I believe. How many wooden structures exposed to the elements and receiving no maintenance are still around after 6000 years?
-------------------- Check out my handmade pens Check back often because the page changes often Posts: 831 | From: Brisbane, Australia | Registered: Jun 2005
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I don't know what the big deal is -- somebody in the Weekly World News finds Noah's Ark two or three times a year. If they'd just mark the spot next time they're out there we wouldn't have to keep going through this.
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More scientific resources wasted on a fable.
quote:As for the saga of Noah's Ark, he is quick to note that there are those who say it is fable while some take it as truth.
Yes, and some people think faeries are true too. At least in the case of faeries we don't have mounds of evidence against, combined with the common sense of the impossibility of one family packing all the creatures of earth on one wooden ship. "If Noah's Ark exists"? To quote Bill Cosby's Noah, "Right!"
Posts: 4922 | From: Kyoto, Japan | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Farouk El-Baz, head of the remote sensing department for Boston University and the man who served on the Apollo program as secretary of the lunar landing site selection committee and chairman of the astronaut training group, has already viewed both the pictures taken back in 1949 by B-25 reconaissance aircraft and the IKONOS imaging satellite, and has described it as a natural formation. The person heading up the Ark project that El-Baz is consulting for, Porcher Taylor III, is a law professor at the University of Richmond, and his "intelligence" experience comes from stories he heard as a cadet at West Point concerning classified pictures of Mt Ararat (which are classified because of the region of the world they are in and the equipment used to take the pictures).
Even if you believe that Noah's Ark is still resting on that mountain somewhere, rest assured that the Ararat Anomaly isn't it.
buf 'still studying Arkitecture' ungla
-------------------- "Pardon him. Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature."
George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra Posts: 4847 | From: Washington, DC | Registered: Jun 2001
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Now can we go find Santa's workshop? Should be easy enough to find in all that ice. Posts: 4922 | From: Kyoto, Japan | Registered: Sep 2005
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I always wondered why we have woodworm and termites. Was Noah that dumb that he deliberately transported creatures who could have eaten through his boat?
Posts: 305 | From: South Africa | Registered: Jan 2006
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Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
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quote:"I had no preconceived notions or agendas when I began this in 1993 as to what I was looking for," Taylor said.
"I was just looking for a research project, and thought 'Hey, what about studying satellite pictures of Mount Ararat? No particular reason to do so, but it might be interesting.' I was amazed when I saw something boat-shaped, and even more amazed when I mentioned it to a friend and he told me about The Bible and the story of Noah's Ark!"
quote:Taylor said. "I maintain that if it is the remains of something manmade and potentially nautical, then it's potentially something of biblical proportions."
About the size of a hardback book?
Posts: 8725 | From: Ipswich - the UK's 9th Best Place to Sleep! | Registered: Feb 2000
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If it were discredited, no one would fund the researchers anymore. As long as there are people who believe in it, it doesn't matter if it is never found. It's a "holy grail" scenario.
"It's out there somewhere! I BELIEVE it! Here, have another $10,000 to continue searching."
-------------------- Fundamentally Unfundie since 1975 Posts: 7942 | From: Louisiana | Registered: Jun 2000
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Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
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Sorry, that story is hilarious...
quote:Given that length, Taylor pointed out, the anomaly dwarfs the Titanic and Bismarck in size, and equals the size of the largest modern aircraft carrier. That analysis would seem to call into question whether the anomaly is a wooden ship and raises a key question: If a boat were truly that huge, would it float?
Because big things don't float, right? Is that why aircraft carriers sink?
Posts: 8725 | From: Ipswich - the UK's 9th Best Place to Sleep! | Registered: Feb 2000
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I think I remember watching a documentary a few years ago on this. IIRC, a small group of French archeologists hiked up there a few decades ago and discovered a large wooden beam and took a sample. The documentary said that it was possibly from the ark because Mt. Ararat has no trees for the beam to have come from, and the type of wood was not indigenous to the area, but was prevalent to the area where Noah had built the ark. They then tested the wood and stated that it was about 5,000 years old.
-------------------- "You better respect the Rap or the Rap won't respect you." Ledatru Posts: 1141 | From: Chicago, IL | Registered: May 2005
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quote:I always wondered why we have woodworm and termites. Was Noah that dumb that he deliberately transported creatures who could have eaten through his boat?
Don't forget tapeworms. Why on earth would he bring them?
quote:Because big things don't float, right? Is that why aircraft carriers sink?
Because wood is not sturdy enough for a shop of that size. A larger ship means stronger forces are acting on it and they will get a better leverage. It would break apart and sink.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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I picture an expedition chipping into the structure with a rock pick. A hole opens...they slowly enlarge it...and a wizened, shaking, superannuated T-Rex comes tottering out, croaking, "For the love of God, what KEPT you?"
-------------------- "No hard feelin's and HOPpy New Year!"--Walt Kelly Hear what you're missing: ARTC podcasts! http://artcpodcast.org/ Posts: 7581 | From: Gainesville, Georgia | Registered: Jun 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Troberg: [QB] [QUOTE]I always wondered why we have woodworm and termites. Was Noah that dumb that he deliberately transported creatures who could have eaten through his boat?
Don't forget tapeworms. Why on earth would he bring them?
quote:Originally posted by Drainfluid: I always wondered why we have woodworm and termites. Was Noah that dumb that he deliberately transported creatures who could have eaten through his boat?
He kept them in giant fish tanks filled with dirt and wood, so they wouldn't eat through the boat.
I always had this problem in school:
"Sta* Betty? He only took two of each animal, right? So like, if there's only two lions and only two gazelles, right? then what did the lions eat? Cause, lions eat gazelles, right? They don't eat plants. So if they're in a boat for 40 days and 40 nights, they gotta have eaten something, right? So how did Noer** end up with two gazelles by the end of the trip? Why didn't the lions eat them?"
At that point, Sta Betty would turn red as a beet. But then, that nun would turn red as a beet at the drop of a hat. Everyone drove her crazy.
* "Sta" means "Sister" in a R.I. accent. ** "Noer" mean "Noah" in an R.I. accent.
-------------------- I would prefer not to. My blog Posts: 4789 | From: Rhode Island | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Nurple: I think I remember watching a documentary a few years ago on this. IIRC, a small group of French archeologists hiked up there a few decades ago and discovered a large wooden beam and took a sample. The documentary said that it was possibly from the ark because Mt. Ararat has no trees for the beam to have come from, and the type of wood was not indigenous to the area, but was prevalent to the area where Noah had built the ark. They then tested the wood and stated that it was about 5,000 years old.
The Search For Noah's Ark special shown on the Learning Channel in 2001-2002 talks about such wood being found on the side of Ararat, far below the Anomaly but still above the tree line. Carbon dating of the wood, however, indicated a date considerably less than 2000 years old. The wood was found buried in the snow at a site not far from an old monastery, who used to give tours of Biblical relics in exchange for "donations".
buf 'three guesses how the wood got there ' ungla
-------------------- "Pardon him. Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature."
George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra Posts: 4847 | From: Washington, DC | Registered: Jun 2001
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Canuckistan
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
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quote:Originally posted by Griffin stuck in the Candy Floss: This is not new info. I remember seeing this exact same picture in the late 80's/early 90's.
-------------------- People need to stop appropriating Jesus as their reason for behaving badly. It's so irritating. (Avril) Posts: 8429 | From: New York run by the Swiss (Toronto) | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Nurple: I think I remember watching a documentary a few years ago on this. IIRC, a small group of French archeologists hiked up there a few decades ago and discovered a large wooden beam and took a sample. The documentary said that it was possibly from the ark because Mt. Ararat has no trees for the beam to have come from, and the type of wood was not indigenous to the area, but was prevalent to the area where Noah had built the ark. They then tested the wood and stated that it was about 5,000 years old.
In which area did Noah build the ark? I've just had a look at Genesis, chapters 6 and 7, and geographical details are quite lacking.
-------------------- Ad astra per asparagus. Posts: 4806 | From: Groton, CT | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Senior: In which area did Noah build the ark? I've just had a look at Genesis, chapters 6 and 7, and geographical details are quite lacking.
I always understood it was the New London Shipyard, but I could be wrong.
-------------------- "No hard feelin's and HOPpy New Year!"--Walt Kelly Hear what you're missing: ARTC podcasts! http://artcpodcast.org/ Posts: 7581 | From: Gainesville, Georgia | Registered: Jun 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Richard W: Sorry, that story is hilarious...
quote:Given that length, Taylor pointed out, the anomaly dwarfs the Titanic and Bismarck in size, and equals the size of the largest modern aircraft carrier. That analysis would seem to call into question whether the anomaly is a wooden ship and raises a key question: If a boat were truly that huge, would it float?
Because big things don't float, right? Is that why aircraft carriers sink?
Then it can't be the ark, can it? We know the ark was 300 cubits long by 50 wide, something like 150 meters by 25 meters: I suspect the largest modern aircract carrier is somewhat bigger than that (probably more than twice as big).
-------------------- ~~Ai am in mai prrrrrraime!~~ Posts: 10111 | From: Oklahoma | Registered: Sep 2004
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I believe Noah's ark existed, but I don't know why people bother looking for it. Why would Noah leave the ark intact? That thing would have been dismantled and the materials used to build new shelters, or for firewood, etc. There's no way it would be left alone for 4500 years.
Besides which, would wood even last that long? It's not an antique piece of furniture, it would be outside in the elements all this time. Wouldn't it have rotted away?
Posts: 44 | From: San Bruno, CA | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Drainfluid: I always wondered why we have woodworm and termites. Was Noah that dumb that he deliberately transported creatures who could have eaten through his boat?
He kept them in giant fish tanks filled with dirt and wood, so they wouldn't eat through the boat.
I always had this problem in school:
"Sta* Betty? He only took two of each animal, right? So like, if there's only two lions and only two gazelles, right? then what did the lions eat? Cause, lions eat gazelles, right? They don't eat plants. So if they're in a boat for 40 days and 40 nights, they gotta have eaten something, right? So how did Noer** end up with two gazelles by the end of the trip? Why didn't the lions eat them?"
At that point, Sta Betty would turn red as a beet. But then, that nun would turn red as a beet at the drop of a hat. Everyone drove her crazy.
* "Sta" means "Sister" in a R.I. accent. ** "Noer" mean "Noah" in an R.I. accent.
Obviously, Sta Betty wasn't well versed in Genesis 7 , which mentions that more than 2 of every kind of animal were brought on the ark.
quote:2 Take with you seven [a] of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
Even Genesis 6 allows that the animals must be fed, although it doesn't get too specific.
quote:21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
-------------------- If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket
quote:"I had no preconceived notions or agendas when I began this in 1993 as to what I was looking for," Taylor said.
"I was just looking for a research project, and thought 'Hey, what about studying satellite pictures of Mount Ararat? No particular reason to do so, but it might be interesting.' I was amazed when I saw something boat-shaped, and even more amazed when I mentioned it to a friend and he told me about The Bible and the story of Noah's Ark!"
His story all along is that he's been intrigued by the Ararat Anomaly since his days as a cadet at West Point, where he heard stories about "classified" pictures of Something on the mountain. He has most definitely always had the idea that Whatever It Is must be Special if the photograph was classified. Although he claims to have "no opinion" on whether the Ararat Anomaly is the Ark, I have it on good authority that he is a True Believer.
buf 'forgive the late reply and seemingly random capitalized words' ungla
-------------------- "Pardon him. Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature."
George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra Posts: 4847 | From: Washington, DC | Registered: Jun 2001
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That looks like a rock to me, but then, I'm trained to recognize boats from the surface...
A 150 meter by 25 meter ship isn't that large, by modern standards. It's actually pretty small.
But modern ships are made of steel, which is a lot more resistant than wood to shearing forces and bending moments... And squared pieces of wood can be, what, 20 meters long? You'd need a lot of joints, which... Not all that good.
quote:Originally posted by Brad from Georgia: I picture an expedition chipping into the structure with a rock pick. A hole opens...they slowly enlarge it...and a wizened, shaking, superannuated T-Rex comes tottering out, croaking, "For the love of God, what KEPT you?"
Would that expedition be called the Raiders of the Lost Ark?
Here, I'll get it.
-------------------- "Chuck E. Cheese called. They want their band back."
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