Our salvation does not depend upon how the question posed in the title of this article is answered. Whether or not the Ark is still on Ararat (or not) doesn’t change the truth that there once was a world-wide flood as described in Genesis 6-8. Whether man ever finds any evidence of the Ark does not change the fact that God once saved Noah and his family in this great vessel.

     With that said, let me share with you just a few bits of evidence that seem to suggest that there is something on Ararat worthy of our notice!

The mountain most generally identified with the Ararat of the Bible sets on the far eastern border of Modern Turkey.

Throughout history many secular writers have claimed as a matter of fact that the Ark was on Ararat in their day.

• Berossos was a Chaldean priest of Bel who lived during the reign of Antiochus the First (280-261 BC). (Smith, pg. 58). He claimed that people scraped bitumen from the Ark to make amulets. (Verbrugghe & Wickersham, pg. 59).
• The First century Jewish historian Josephus quotes Nicolaus of Damascus, an intimate friend of Herod the Great and Caesar Augustus (Smith, pg. 200). Nicolaus claimed of the Ark that - “...remains of the timber were a great while preserved” (pg. 29).
• Isadore of Seville (560-636 AD) set himself to the task of producing a compilation of universal knowledge. In his work entitled Etymologies in the section entitled “On Mountains” he declares -“Ararat is a mountain in Armenia where the historians testify that the Ark came to rest after the Flood. So even to this day wood remains of it are to be seen there” (Balsiger, pg. 77).
• Marco Polo (1234-1324 AD), in his work entitled Travels claims of Ararat - “...the Ark of Noah still rests on top...” (Balsiger, pg. 77).

In the nineteenth century the following witnesses claimed to have seen either the Ark itself or the hewn wood remains of the Ark.

• 1876. James Bryce, a British statesman, jurist and writer found a 4 foot 5 inch plank of hewn wood at the 14,000 ft. level. The find was reported in the New York Times. (Pederson).
• 1883. The Turkish Government discovered a large structure resembling a ship. The report was published in the August 10, 1883 issue of the Chicago Tribune reporting a “...gigantic structure of very dark wood protruding from a glacier...” (Balsiger, pg. 94,95).
• April 25th 1887. John Joseph Nouri, Patriarch of the Nestorian Church claimed to have seen, entered and measured the Ark. Nouri spoke at the World Parliament of Religions at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 announcing his discovery. (Cummings, pg. 118-133).

The twentieth century saw some of the most spectacular claims regarding the Ark on Ararat.

• 1902 & 1904. Turkish resident George Hagopian claimed to have climbed onto the roof of the vessel as a boy with his uncle. (Balsiger, pg. 99-102).
• 1916. Russian Aviator Vladimir Roskovitsky claimed to see “...A strange craft,...as long as a city block [that]...would compare favorably in size with a modern battleship of this day” (Balsiger, pg. 102,103).
• The Russian Czar sent two companies of soldiers to explore the sight. Roskovitsky claimed: “...Complete measurements of it were taken, plans were drawn of it, and numerous photographs were made all of which were sent to the Czar.” (Balsiger, pg. 104).
• 1955. Explorer Fernand Navarra removed a 5 foot hand hewn beam from a glacier on Ararat. The discovery was filmed and the wood was dated at approximately 5000 years of age. (Navarra, pg. 40-69).
• 1984. Palestinian Christian George Jamal claims to have entered the Ark and seen cages and removed wood. (Pederson).
• 1989. Dr. Ahmet Ali Arslan, Washington bureau chief for the major Turkish newspaper TURKIYE photographed a large man-made object protruding from the snow on Ararat. (Pederson).
• 1990’s. French spot Satellite imagery used during the Gulf War revealed a 90 foot wood object extending over a rocky ledgeon Ararat. (Pederson).
• 1990’s. Astronaut James Irwin photographed what he believed to be the Ark during a flight over Ararat. (Pederson).