Researchers Drill at Turkey’s Controversial Noah’s Ark Site

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Researchers have begun drilling into a mysterious boat-shaped formation in eastern Turkey as they search for evidence that it could be the remains of Noah’s Ark described in the Bible.

The Durupinar formation lies near Mount Ararat and has attracted researchers and treasure hunters for decades. Members of the Noah’s Ark Scans expedition believe their latest investigation could reveal what lies beneath the surface.

Project marketing and fundraising director Lauren Witzke said in a Tuesday update that core drilling had begun at the site.

“Good morning from the outer rims of Noah’s ark,” Witzke wrote, claiming the expedition had Turkish government approval and oversight from local universities.

She also made the dramatic claim that the findings could force universities to rewrite their curricula and challenge Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Witzke is a controversial American political activist and former Senate candidate. She has described herself as a “flat-earther” and has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory.

However, the expedition also includes archaeologists and geologists, including project director Dr Cenker Atila of Turkey’s Sivas Cumhuriyet University.

A controversial history

Researchers first officially identified the Durupinar formation in 1959, when a Turkish Army captain photographed it from the air while mapping the region.

Local researchers later surveyed and excavated the site and even used explosives during their investigations. They found no archaeological evidence linking the formation to Noah’s Ark and concluded that natural geological processes had created it.

Modern geologists generally share that view, identifying the formation as a boat-shaped ridge consisting of limestone and volcanic clay that erosion shaped over time.

Interest in the site returned in the 1980s when American salvage expert David Fasold examined it with ground-penetrating radar.

Fasold became convinced that the formation represented the fossilised remains of a ship’s upper deck. He measured it at about 164 metres long, close to the 157-metre length of the ark described in Genesis, based on the biblical measurement of 300 cubits.

He also pointed to large carved stones scattered northwest of the site. Known as “drogue stones”, they contain holes near their upper ends. Fasold argued that ancient people had used them as sea anchors and cut them loose as the floodwaters receded.

Sceptics instead identify the stones as ancient memorial markers or tombstones.

Fasold later rejected the ark theory, publicly describing it as “absolute BS”. His Australian friend and biographer, June Dawes, maintained that he continued to believe he had found the ark until his death.

What is the 2026 expedition doing?

The Noah’s Ark Scans team has carried out new ground-penetrating radar surveys in recent years and claims the scans have identified what appear to be corridors and chambers beneath the formation.

The group says one possible hallway extends more than 250 feet.

Researchers now plan to drill narrow cores into those areas and deploy an underground robot called Gopher to investigate spaces that humans cannot easily reach.

Gopher can capture high-resolution footage and collect soil samples. Australian engineer Dr Robert Ross of La Trobe University designed the robot.

Ross told news.com.au that he adapted Gopher from robots he had originally developed for wildlife researchers to explore wombat burrows in Australia and armadillo burrows in French Guiana.

The expedition launched a fundraising campaign seeking US$600,000 (about A$843,000) to begin drilling.

By Tuesday, the campaign had raised only a fraction of that target. However, drone footage released by Witzke appeared to show drilling underway at the site.

The team is also racing against winter weather, which will freeze the ground and force the researchers to suspend their work until next year.

The drilling could provide new data about the Durupinar formation, although it remains unclear whether the investigation will produce evidence connecting the site to the biblical account of Noah’s Ark.

(Source: News Limited)

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