When I was a young boy, a fascinating story was published in LIFE Magazine about the discovery of Noah’s ark in the mountain region of eastern Turkey, in the shadow of Mount Ararat.  It captivated my imagination and has intrigued me ever since.

This discovery began when an aerial photograph taken of a boat-shaped object was seen  in the Ararat region, about 20 miles south of Mt. Ararat.  Its dimensions were exactly the length and width of what was described in the book of Genesis.

Gen. 6:15–“And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.“

300 x 50 x 30 cubits.  If you convert these dimensions into feet, it would  measure 450′ x 75 x 45.  Unfortunately, the boat-shaped object was 515′ feet long, so it was dismissed as a natural anomaly with no connection to the ancient ark.

For many years, theologians mistakenly calculated this measurement using the Hebrew equivalent of a cubit, or 18″.

The reason this was a mistake is because the Hebrew nation did not yet exist.  That did not start until the birth of Abraham, and his birth was many years later.  Noah lived 350 more years after the flood, and Abraham was not born until after Noah’s death.  While Noah lived and constructed the ark, the only known measurement of a cubit was the Egyptian cubit, or 20.6″.

300 x 20.6″ = 6,180 inches.  6,180 / 12 = 515 feet.  This is, to the inch, the exact length of the boat-shaped object.

Many years after this story was written in LIFE Magazine, a man named Ron Wyatt decided to see for himself whether this discovery could be the actual ark from the Bible.  The first thing he did was correct the record of the potential location of the ark as not actually being “on” Mt. Ararat, citing Genesis 8.

Gen. 8:4–“And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.“

The MOUNTAINS of Ararat, not ON Mt. Ararat.  This verse clearly identifies the ark as having run aground in the Ararat region, visible to that mountain, but not “upon” that mountain.  Thus, this discovery of a boat-shaped object a mere 20 miles south of Mt. Ararat could not be ruled out.

When Mr. Wyatt finally got permission to visit the site, he could clearly make out the shape of the object and it certainly looked like it could have been a boat, but the only portions visible were the upper shape, not the “hull” of it, if it were an actual ship.  It would be difficult to impossible to get the Turkish authorities to allow any excavation of this site.  Without permission to dig around the shape, he might never know if his theory was true or not.  He returned home and prayed for a miracle.

He got his miracle in 1978.  An earthquake rocked the region which resulted in no human casualties, but it caused the soil to fall away from the sides of this discovery, and the exposed sides of the ark could now clearly be seen, as seen in the photograph above.

He returned to the site once again, this time with equipment that could detect objects below the surface and he took various soil samples.  Later laboratory tests revealed complex metal readings of aluminum and even titanium.  Most people would dismiss this discovery as proof that this could NOT possibly be Noah’s ark!  It is widely believed that titanium was not discovered until 1791, so how could it be found in metals at this ancient site?

Again, the answer is found in Genesis.

Gen. 4:22–“And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of EVERY ARTIFICER IN BRASS AND IRON: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.”

In this brief verse, we learn that early mankind had already perfected the use and creation of EVERY kind of metal product the earth could produce!  This verse was written in approx. 2944 B.C.E, over 4,966 years ago.  The word “titanium” wasn’t introduced into our language until barely 200 years ago.  If the metalworkers of Genesis had already been taught about ALL “brass and iron”, it is an explanation that they knew about all metal products, period.  But the only words in the Hebrew language to convey this fact were “brass and iron”.  The discovery of aluminum and titanium continue to reinforce Mr. Wyatt’s theory.

He also used the scientific equipment to measure anomalies underground.  What he found was astonishing.  Each time the equipment sensed a solid object in the soil, they laid a stone at each reading.  Then, they used a ribbon to stretch from one reading location to the next, and the next, until there were continuous lines of ribbon that ran lengthwise and widthwise.  You can see that pattern in this video.  The regular patterns showed the obvious wooden beams of an enormous boat.  Nothing in nature could possibly cause this symmetrical pattern, let alone repeat itself at a 90 degree angle from the lengthwise measurements.

This information was overwhelming and convincing to the Turkish authorities.  In 1987, after double-verifying all of Mr. Wyatt’s evidence, the Turkish government officially designated this site a National Park–later upgraded to a National Treasure.

Yet, here we are, over 30 years later, and this story has gotten scant attention.  Most Americans have probably never heard of this story.  And those who have, laugh it to scorn and give it no serious thought.

The Visitors Center in Turkey gets only about 20 to 30 visitors per day.  Is this because the world is not yet ready for such a mike-drop, end of the debate over whether the Bible is true or not?  This could very well be the case.  Zechariah prophesied about a time in the not-too-distant future when there will be an outpouring of Yahweh’s spirit upon mankind and we will suddenly, without blinders, finally understand that the Messiah, Yahshua, who died for our sins, was/IS Yahweh’s firstborn son.  This realization will cause weeping and sorrow to such a degree, it will be as if our only child had died.

Zech. 12:–“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.“

Obviously, SOME event will have to occur that will open people’s minds and hearts to the truth of scripture.  When it does, there will such a thirst for the truth, it will from that point forward, go unquenched.

I wonder if this discovery will be the spark that lights that fuse.

All the credit goes to Ron Wyatt and his lifelong effort to research this remarkable site.  You may find his webpage here for further information.