Noah’s Ark It’s Final Berth -- By: Bill Crouse

Journal: Bible and Spade (Second Run)
Volume: BSPADE 05:3 (Summer 1992)
Article: Noah’s Ark It’s Final Berth
Author: Bill Crouse


Noah’s Ark
It’s Final Berth

Bill Crousea

Noah and his ark is from a late 13th-century Hebrew Bible and Prayer book in the British Library.

Since the early 1950’s the search for Noah’s Ark has been the subject of many books and movies.1 What gave rise to this interest was the distinct possibility that actual remains of Noah’s Ark might have been found. The spark which set off this burning interest among Christians was the claim in 1948 of an eyewitness who said he stumbled onto the Ark high on the snowcap of Mt. Ararat.2 Since that time others have made similar claims. Based on these alleged eyewitness accounts many expeditions have been launched, countless hours have been spent in research, and large sums have been spent to verify what many critics said was an impossible quest.

More recently in the decade of the Eighties, Col. James Irwin, the late moon-walking astronaut and his associates, combed most of the mountain on foot. Still not satisfied, they surveyed and photographed the mountain with various aircraft. While the efforts of Irwin and others have received much attention from the media, there is still no tangible evidence of an ark on Ararat. Indeed, many who have been involved in the search, are now becoming convinced that the Ark: 1) may have merged with the elements, or 2) God may not want it revealed at this time.3

In this article I would like to propose a third reason why the search for Noah’s Ark has been unsuccessful, namely, that it may have landed on another mountain and the remains may no longer be extant. From the perspective of history, there seems to be compelling ancient sources which argue for another site as the final berth of Noah’s Ark. Before we look at this evidence, it might be helpful to the readers of Archaeology and Biblical Research if we give some of the reasons why the search has been concentrated on Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey.

FIRST, and foremost, are the alleged eyewitness accounts. If it weren’t for these, it is doubtful if a search would ever have arisen on the mountain the Turks call “Agri Dagh” and the Armenians, “Masis.”

A SECOND reason given for searching for remains of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat, is its altitude. At nearly 17,000 feet it has a permanent icecap which would lend itself to the Ark’s preservation.4 Indeed an Ark perpetually frozen in ice would never decay. It could lie ...

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