In search of Noah’s Ark: Part II
By Sam Weaver (07/23/06)
In Part 1(1) of this series, I reported that the dedicated researcher, Ron Stewart, has amassed a wealth of photographic evidence concerning the remains of Noah’s Ark. Over the past three months, he has filled my inbox to capacity on several occasions. Even more impressive than this extensive portfolio, in my mind, is his perseverance and his ability to think outside the box.
For at least the last 200 years, many persons and expeditions searching for Noah’s Ark have been looking for a large, rectangular “box-barge” object. According to Ron, the primary reason why no one has been able to find what they were looking for is because they have been searching for the wrong shape and design. There are numerous rectangular, boxlike, natural volcanic anomalies upon Greater Mt. Ararat. These anomalies have fooled many expeditionists and observers over the past couple of centuries. The Bible does give height, width and length requirements for the ark, but it never states that the ark was of a box-barge design and construction.
Because of these specific measurements given in Genesis 6:15, it has been assumed that the ark must be a simple, rectangular boxlike design. Some believe and have stated publicly that because a model of a boxlike ark was tested for stability in a marine laboratory several years ago, then the theory that the ark was boxlike in construction has been proven. Ron’s ability to “think outside the box” (Pardon the pun!) made him question this theory.
Perhaps the most popular ark-design model accepted today is a fully enclosed box-barge that has a small, roof-like extension on the top, in the center and running the entire length of the ark. This extension is said to have contained a row of windows on both sides running the entire length of the barge that would have provided ventilation. Every expert in architecture and construction that Ron has contacted has told him that this design would have been completely insufficient in providing adequate air circulation and ventilation needed by all of the inhabitants—both human and animal—on the ark.
Considering this, Ron wondered how a rectangular, boxlike shape could have included adequate open windows without allowing water to get in and causing the ark to sink. Ron contacted the laboratory that tested the box-barge model and requested data and evidence which would show that the model was tested under all conceivable global flood conditions. He never received a response. This told him that the data and evidence were not available and that the theory is, at best, insufficiently tested.
Based upon this and many other findings, Ron Stewart has a new and revolutionary proposal for the design and construction of Noah’s Ark. Ron has countless pieces of obscure evidence involving persons down through history, from about 2500 BC to the present day, who have claimed to have seen the ark. Legendary ancient world rulers, scientists, explorers and average folks have all left scads of evidence over the ages. Among these reports and descriptions, complemented by photographic evidence*, Ron believes he has found solid evidence that shows the true shape and design of Noah’s Ark. He believes it was a gradually sloping, or shallow-sloped A-frame structure—an enormous flattened triangle shape attached to and enclosing a massive hull—with a rectangular bottom and protruding stabilizers on each side.
Ron has identified what he firmly believes is the original ark on Greater Mt. Ararat; based to a large degree upon both eyewitness accounts and photographs from earlier expeditions. Largely because of an earthquake in 1840, the ark lies in two pieces in two separate locations on the mountain. The first location is on the far northeastern side of the mountain at approximately the 14,675-foot level in the Ahora Gorge. It is roughly 750 feet to 1500 feet north of the center of the Araxes ice cave. The second portion is some 1200-2500 feet west of the first object. It sits upon a cliff ledge that is recessed into the side of the mountain and has enormous animal carvings and pictographs above it. The second object of interest is at an elevation which is about 200 feet higher than the first object.
Ron has also discovered, in photographs*, a similar object on Mt. Sabalon in Iran. In Part I, I mentioned that a boat-like object, called “The ship of Noah” by the locals there, is also present on Mount Judi in southern Turkey. How could the ark be in three different places? Ron can explain this.
According to the Bible, Noah had three sons, Ham, Shem and Japheth. (See, for example, Genesis 8:18-27.) Shem was the godly son, whose lineage produced Abraham and, finally, Jesus. Shem had a son named Arphaxad, and Ham had a son called Cush. Not long after the Flood, Arphaxad and Cush had an argument. [NOTE: This is where things really got interesting for me, personally. About eight years ago, I was working on a project called “The Genesis Trilogy”. The third part of the trilogy was titled “The Origin of Mythology”. To make a long story short, I did extensive research into the works of several ancient historians and philosophers, and arrived at many of the same conclusions that Ron has detailed in his numerous contacts with me. Although we diverge on some minor points of fact—for example, what Ron calls “an argument” I would call, basically, an all-out war—I can personally vouch for much of what Ron describes below.] Cush was the first king of Urartu (Ararat). As a result of this “argument” with Arphaxad, Arphaxad was exiled from the region.
Before he left Urartu, Arphaxad removed a large portion of the midsection of the ark on Mt. Ararat measuring approximately 250 feet in length*. He wanted a memorial of God’s Grace and Mercy to take with him as he left. The two separated ends of the ark on Mt Ararat, according to Ron, were rejoined by Cush’s followers sometime after Arphaxad journeyed with his clan into what is now northern Iran. Arphaxad and his followers reassembled the midsection of the ark in the crater of what is now called Mt. Sabalon in Iran as a memorial to God. Ron is convinced that pictographs discovered and photographed at the Mt. Sabalon site corroborate many of the details of this story. Later peoples had similar ideas and erected a memorial, with pictographs, out of stone at Mt. Judi (Cudi Dagh).
Meanwhile, Cush and, especially, his son, Nimrod (See Genesis 10:8-12), became increasingly corrupted by the power and authority that they possessed over their subjects. Tasting power and control, they only wanted more and more. They set themselves up as gods, and proclaimed that Noah and his wife were gods. [It is amazing to see how the story of Nimrod and his wife, Semiramis—and their battles with Shem and Arphaxad—fit so well into all of the ancient Pagan mythologies from Babylon, Canaan and Egypt to Greece and Rome. One can even get a better understanding of the religion of Hinduism when he understands the root of the name of the Hindu god Vishnu. The name “Vishnu” is a Sanskrit corruption of the Babylonian phrase, “ish nu”. The Babylonian word for “man”, or “the man” was ish. The Babylonian name for Noah was “Nu”. Thus, the name for the Hindu god Vishnu simply means, “the man, Noah”.]
Ron Stewart believes that although Noah would certainly not have approved, Cush and Nimrod deified Noah and his wife—thus claiming divinity for themselves. After Noah and his wife died, Cush buried them with great pomp and circumstance among the remains of the reassembled remaining portions of the ark atop Mt. Ararat. Ron believes that he has photographic evidence* that reveals the outline of a well-preserved corpse that may possibly be that of Noah himself.
With the method of enhancing photographs that Ron has developed, he has been able to discern windows and a large doorway measuring about 10 feet wide by 14 feet high in what he believes is one portion of the ark as it now rests on Greater Mt. Ararat. Even more astonishing, he claims to have been able to “get inside” of this structure through the windows and door with his photographic enhancement method. He has a plethora of enhanced photos* revealing pictographs that he says depict scenes of a man with a beard interacting with several different species of animals and other aspects of the story of Noah, his family, the Flood and the ark.
Readers of this column may have seen the expeditionist, Bob Cornuke, on Fox News Channel’s “The Heartland with John Kasich” which aired on Saturday, June 17. Others may have read about Mr. Cornuke’s expedition to Mt. Sabalon in such venues as Koenig’s International News. Promos for the “Heartland” episode included the tease, “Has Noah's Ark been discovered in Iran? We have exclusive footage you can't miss!” Although Mr. Cornuke has made it clear that his expedition has not proved that Mt. Sabalon is the final resting place of the Ark of Noah, much of the hype around these programs and articles tends to convey this impression.
This is by no means to disparage Mr. Cornuke or his work. Ron Stewart and I both admire Mr. Cornuke’s genuine desire to get to the truth; and believe that he has done some outstanding work in getting people interested in Biblical history. In fact, Ron had what he describes as a cordial telephone conversation with Mr. Cornuke in late May of this year. During that conversation, Mr. Cornuke’s expedition to Mt. Sabalon was discussed. Ron simply believes that Mr. Cornuke is dead wrong on this one. Ron’s upcoming book titled “Noah’s Ark: A Scientific Look Past & Future”, will detail many of the reasons and evidence which have led him to this conclusion.
In the meantime, Ron has also found all sorts of evidence* in many other locales from Turkey, to Jordan, to the desert of Wadi Arabi and on to Dedan Arabia. Murals in caves, pictographs and rock carvings throughout this vast region all memorialize the story of Noah. In fact, virtually every culture on the face of the earth has—or at one time had—a story of a global flood in which a select few were saved from total annihilation. If things go as planned, these flood stories will be the subject of a future episode in this series of columns.
In the next entry of this series, we will discuss in some detail the many ancient persons who have left memorials on Greater Mt. Ararat. Very few people know that unbelievably enormous statues/memorials were meticulously and skillfully carved into solid rock cliff faces on this famous mountain in Eastern Turkey. Stay tuned for the next article; things will get even more intense!
*NOTE: For photographs and/or any other evidence mentioned in this article, please contact Ron Stewart at swp@gvec.net.
1) http://americandaily.com/article/14098
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