For centuries, adventurers have searched for Noah's Ark, and for decades, researchers have looked at spots on Mount Ararat in Turkey. Now some think they found a ship just 18 miles away from the mountain.
The latest research in recent years around the site uses soil analysis and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Researchers for the group Noah's Ark Scans think there is a man-made structure buried in the place with dimensions very close to how the Ark was described in Genesis, according to the Jerusalem Post. The GPR scans show what appear to be a hallway, decks, and rooms beneath the surface. Soil samples suggest the area contains rotting wood.
Core drilling in the area and more GPR scans are planned.
Mount Ararat is a snowy, dormant volcano in eastern Turkey that has been called Ararat since the 11th century in the middle ages. But well before that the first century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus claimed pieces of the Ark were found on Mount Ararat.
The story of Noah and his Ark, still a favorite among children, is part of all three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), but also in the earliest stories of Mesopotamia and Sumerian dynasties. Epic stories all recount a great flood and a long-lived hero who built a boat.
