|
NOAH's ARK
Ministries International limited - The Media Evangelism Limited
Date: 11 May 2010 Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exploration Team Successfully Unearths an Old Wooden Structure on Snow-capped Mount Ararat
Scientists and Experts are Recruited to Form an International Search Team
The discovery of a large ancient wooden structure on Mount Ararat, Eastern Turkey has become a worldwide sensation. Experts and Turkish officials believe that the most probable explanation is Noah's Ark. In late April, they jointly announced the discovery with the search team and offered to help its future exploration and scientific studies.
Noah's Ark Ministries International - an exploration team comprising Hong Kong and Turkish members responsible for the discovery - has dedicated itself to the search for Noah's Ark since 2004, collecting clues and eye-witness accounts passed down over many generations in tandem with ground searches. In October 2009, the exploration team made a major breakthrough when team members entered a large wooden structure buried under volcanic rocks and ice, and proceeded to conduct field studies, take measurements and collect samples, with the entire process filmed. This is the first team in history to ever visually document the interior of the wood en structure on the mountain.
In the press conference in Hong Kong dated 25 April, Professor Oktay Belli, a respected archaeologist and Director of Institute of Eurasian Archaeology, University of Istanbul said, "The search team has made the greatest discovery in history. This finding is very important and the greatest up until now. On Mount Ararat, human settlement has never reached above 3,500 m. Mount Ararat is a holy place and there are rich historical accounts about Noah's Ark being on this mountain. Many people have searched the mountain for the Holy Ark. This present discovery is the first serious expedition where the team found a wooden structure under ice."
WOODEN STRUCTURE DISCOVERED
Historical accounts dating back more than 2,000 years maintain that 'Noah's Ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat after the Great Flood'. The same account can be found in the Bible and the Koran. In the local region, a saying passed down through the generations goes: 'There is an ancient boat on the mountain'.
Noah's Ark Ministries International has achieved a breakthrough in the search. The team first located a site at an elevation of more than 4,000m, excavated the glacier, finding and venturing inside the wooden structure. Man-fai YUEN, a representative of NAMI, said at the press conference, "The search team and I personally entered a wooden structure high on the mountain. The structure is partitioned into different spaces. We believe that the wooden structure we entered is the same structure recorded in historical accounts and the same ancient boat referred to by the locals."
Ahmet Ertugrul, the search team leader, was the first to get information about the location, after which he started the search. He explained, "I got to know the secret location in June 2008. My souree told me that this is Noah's Ark. I took a team there to search around the region and found a wooden structure. I took some photographs of the interior structure. Since 1 have worked closely with NAMI for some years, I informed them of the discovery."
The search continued for nearly two years. A milestone was passed when one of the team members, Panda Lee, went on an exploratory climb to confirm the existence of a wooden structure at an altitude high above 4,000m. He was able to survey the landscape, preparing for a further expedition. Panda Lee said, "In October 2008, I climbed the mountain with the Turkish team. At an elevation of more than 4,000 metres, I sawastructure built with plank-like timber. Each plank was about 8 inches wide. 1 could see tenons, proof of ancient construction predating the use of metal nails.
We walked about 100 metres to another site. I could see broken wood fragments embedded in a glacier, and some 20 metres long. I surveyed the landscape and found that the wooden structure was permanently covered by ice and volcanic rocks. Prior to my trip, the Turkish team had excavated the site to expose the structure."
Following Panda's confirmation, although search activities were interrupted by unforgiving weather and a tense situation locally, the quest was relentlessly conducted for a whole year. Finally, in October 2009, a film crew accompanied the search team to document the expedition. Six Hong Kong team members entered the wooden structure.
SEVEN SPACES REVEALED
The wooden structure discovered by the team is broken, so members had to enter the structure through various openings. Up until now, the team has discovered seven spaces. One of the team members, Wing-cheung YEUNG explained during the press conference:
1. One of the spaces discovered was frozen in ice. Under the ice is wood, with a wood en beam above. There is a tenon construction on the wall, obviously an artificial structure.
2. The first space witnessed by Panda Lee was L-shaped. lts features were very similar to those of some of the spaces discovered later, features such as tenon construction. We concluded that it was originally a box-shaped room, now heavily decomposed.
3. This third space is more than 5 metres high. Team members had to enter through a broken opening and abseil down to get inside. All the walls are wood and the space is not box -shaped. The walls of this area are not vertical but are rather curved and inc1ined. There is a small door on one side, roughly one meter high and half a meter wide, which presumably leads to another space; but our team did not risk going further due to the lack of oxygen.
4. This room is box-shaped, with dimensions (height, width and length) of more than two metres. There is a wooden beam with wooden pegs along one side of the wall. It is believed that ropes may have been hooked on these pegs to keep animals in place. Along another wall, there are racks.
5. A very small tunnel-like space connects two of the other spaces.
6. A few wooden staircases were found inside the structure, appearing to have been carved from logs. Our team climbed up one of these stairways and found a door in the ceiling, concluding that the wood en structure therefore has more than one floor. We tried to open it but failed. Since we did not want to destroy the structure, we will try again with appropriate equipment in the future.
7. The team has not entered this final space. They viewed it and took photographs from a small opening above. The height and width are estimated to be 5 metres and 12 metres respectively.
In the light of historical records, experts believe that the most probable explanation is that it is Noah's Ark and therefore subsequent scientific studies should be undertaken. Mr. Gerrit AALTEN, a Dutch Ark researcher said, "The significanee of this find is that for the first time in history the discovery of Noah's Ark is weIl documented and revealed to the worldwide community." With more than 30 years experience in collecting information, Mr. Aalten believes that detailed eyewitness accounts make the Ark puzzle complete because all of them mentioned the same significant details that exactly match this astonishing find on the mountain. He continued, "Just a few of the many details that match this find: ... the altitude where it is located, above "the 4000 meters level". Another detail is the way the Ark is situated on the mountain, "slightly tilted". Further, it has a "reddishlbrown wood appearance"; ... the end of the Ark "is decayed and broken and has a hole" through which one can enter; ... it is partly "embedded in the ice and rock debris"; ... and the Ark is "very solid and of high quality"; ... and "very dark, long and rectangular". In conclusion, Mr. Aalten said, "There's a tremendous amount of solid evidence that the structure found on Mount Ararat in Eastem Turkey, is the legendary Ark of Noah."
John McIntosh, an American Ark researcher commented on the discovery, "Besides large wooden beams, there are exposures of large, flat wooden wall areas, some of which is covered in ice. Presently, to me, it seems nearly impossible that the large wood wan areas and very large timbers could have been planted as has been suggested by some of the local people at the mountain. The compartments are at such an inaccessible and difficult location, with different levels evident, it seems to me at such that it is unlikely that they are related to any explainable normal mountain construction such as for shelter or animals ... This site might indeed be some of the remains of Noah's Ark - but further exploration and research needs to be done to be certain what is here"
All attending experts agree that further exploration and analysis are necessary. Manfai YUEN maintained that the artefacts inside might help age dating as weIl as gain better understanding of the ancient civilization. He called for the co-operation of experts, scientists and scholars from around the world. Prior to a mountain expedition in coming September 2010, NAMI will organize an Exploration Forum in mid- June in Dogubayazit, Eastem Turkey to seek advice and methodology for scientific studies. Interested parties can reply an on-Iine form posted by NAM!. During that period of time, Dogubayazit will also have a two-day Festival to celebrate the discovery.
Noah's Ark Ministries International (NAMI)
An international organization comprising ark researchers, scientists and Bible schol ars, NAMI seeks the truth of the Ark from a faith-based yet objective, scientific perspective. In the future, it will continue to invite academia to participate in historically, culturally, geologically and archeologically informed scientific research of the Ark. lts mission is to use the legendary Noah's Ark to bring hopes to people.
Mr. Aalten, Gerrit
Dutch Ark Researcher
Mr. Aalten has been involved in the ark search for 35 years. He travelled to Armenia six times and visited the region of Mt. Ararat numerous times, interviewed people and searched for the information from culturally and historical aspects. He studies every possible eyewitness accounts and gives lectures on the issue. He was invited to present papers in International Symposiums on Noah's Ark and Mt. Ararat.
Mr. McIntosh, John
American Ark Researcher
Current President of SEARCH Foundation, Mr. McIntosh is a geology and science education and has been involved in the Noah's Ark research since 1976. His expeditions on the mountain have included explorations of many suspected Ark sites and possible burial areas. He worked with notabIe researchers like Fernand Navarra and former Apollo 15 Astronaut James Irwin.
Dr. Tom Zoutewelle Geologist
Dr. Tom Zoutewelle obtained a Doctorandus degree in Biology en Geology at the Utrecht University with majors in Palaeobotany and Sedimentology. He is chairman of the dutch foundation Creaton, fellow researcher at the Loma Linda University (USA), member of the Earth History Research Center (USA) and member of the Fachgruppe Geologie of the Studiengemeinschaft Wort und Wissen (Germany).
Mr. Yuen, Man-fai
Hong Kong Team Leader
Andrew Yuen became interested in the Ark when he read a news artiele in the 1970's that reported that a satellite photo taken of Mount Ararat in Turkey showed the image of Noah's Ark. Since that time, he has researched as much information as possible regarding the Ark, and has climbed the mountain in order to search for evidence in accord with his faith.
Mr. Yeung, Wing Cheung
Hong Kong Team Member
Mr. Yeung is a media veteran who has produced the popular and award-winning documentary series. He started involvement in Ark search in 2004. In October 2009, Mr. Yeung directed a film crew to shoot the mountain expedition of the team, documenting the interior structure of the discovered wooden structure on Mt. Ararat.
Mr. Lee, Panda
Hong Kong Team Member
Mr. Lee joined the search team in summer 2008, aiming at verifying the existence of a large wooden structure on Mt. Ararat. He accomplished the mission and became the first Hong Kong team member to witness the structure.
Professor Otkay Belli
Director, Institute of Eurasian Archeology, University of Istanbul
For more than 40 years, Professor Belli has been researching and carrying out excavation works in Eastern Anatolia. He is the author of many books on Noah's Ark and Mt. Ararat. He is also the chairman and organizer of the International Symposiums on Noah's Ark and Mt. Ararat.
Mr. Ertugrul, Ahmet a.k.a. Parasut
Turkish Ark Researcher
Search Team Leader
Bom in the region of Mt. Ararat, Parasut has been wel1-acknowledged of the cultural influence of Noah's Ark in his hometown. He is a professional mountain climber. For the last two decades, he is dedicated to searching of the Ark, aiming at revealing the truth of Noah's Ark. In July 2008, he discovered a large wood en structure on Mt. Ararat by tracing some clues collected. Accompanied by a photographer, he took some photos and this expedition led to an amazing discovery.
Ark Search Journalof NAMI
August 2003
First Chinese Ark Search team begins quest.
October 2004
A Chinese-Turkish research team investigates a site, the alleged location of the Ark's remains, at an altitude of 4,200m on the southwestern slope of Mt. Ararat.
February - August 2007
A scientific expedition team - comprising Hong Kong members including Man-fai Yuen and Wing-cheung Yeung, a Turkish archaeologist, a geologist and mountaineering experts - continues to search in extremely harsh weather. The team enters a cave and collects specimens examined and verified as petrified wood by laboratory analysis conducted by the Applied Geoscience Centre of the Department of Earth Sciences at the Uni versity of Hong Kong.
February 2008
The discovery of a large petrified wood structure is jointly announced by NAMI and the Dogubeyazit Governorship in Dogubeyazit in Eastern Turkey. This is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of modern Ark search. The discovery is included in the International Symposium of Mount Ararat and Noah S Ark, an academie publication edited by leading Turkish archaeologist Prof. Oktay Belli.
Statement by Mr. E. Mushin Bulut, Director of Cultural Ministry, Agri Province, Turkey
In response to the statement by Dr. Price, I have to say that I don 't know who he is. I don 't know what his idea is. He climbed Mt. Ararat in 2009 but without a proper permit for Ark Search. In his public statement, he totally discredits our people. However, I know NAMI and I believe they are trustworthy.
As usual, Mt. Ararat welcomes Ark search activities, of which permits will be issued by the Cultural Minister in Ankara. All applications should be addressed to the Cultural Minister. This discovery is very important and special, Turkish academia and Cultural Ministry will be glad to co-operate with search teams for future studies.
Thank you for your interest in Agri Province, which is our province.
Statement by Mr. Mehmet Hanifi Alir, Parliamentarian, Turkey
The story of Noah and Noah's Ark is mentioned in all Sacred Books, such as Zend Avesta and Abrahamic religious books, üld Testament, New Testament and Quran.
According to the Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Noah's Ark rested on Agri Dagi, which is named as Ararat, Cudi, Cebel Haris and etc.
The discovery is very important to humanity. Very serious scientific studies should be done as soon as possible. As the local authority, we - the government, ministries and parliament will provide all necessary assistance and help to cooperate with all scientific search teams for future exploration.
|
