The Mount Ararat Prehistoric Site: Questions and Answers.

Below are answers to commonly asked questions regarding the Mount Ararat prehistoric site.

[In addition to the linked articles below, please visit www.paleorc.com and the articles concerning the Ararat prehistoric site on the left-hand column of the website.]

What’s so special about the site?

The Mount Ararat prehistoric site originates from an early period (around 9,600 BC calibrated) and is located at high elevations on a mountain where much architecture and artifacts made of organic materials (wood, animal skin, vegetal material) are preserved. Artifacts made of organic materials are very rare finds in archaeology. Because the archaeological features are preserved at high elevations in glacial ice on the highest mountain in Europe (Mount Ararat), the cultural remains and wood architecture exhibit excellent preservation.

What’s the controversy?

Archaeologists and government officials, who supported the preservation and analysis of the Ararat prehistoric site, were attacked by a coterie of fraudsters, who funneled money to a convicted murderer and his partner, to perform a sham excavation for Noah’s ark. Because these individuals did not want a real archaeological site to diminish monies from their hoax excavation, they sought to defame the prehistoric site and those supporting its preservation and research.

See link to Noah's Ark Fraud.

The archaeological site was also disparaged by some young-earth-creationists because the site did not support their views of the ark (e.g., the site did not have dinosaur bones) but supported many secular scientific theories.

Lastly, the archaeological site was associated with legend of Noah’s ark—alienating some in the scientific community who prematurely dismissed the site as a product of pseudo-archaeology (non-scientific adventurism). These archaeologists could not separate their philosophical bias against religion from their professional responsibility to preserve archaeological features and cultural remains.

Where is the site?

On Mount Ararat, in eastern Turkey, between elevations of 3,000 to 4,700 meters above sea level. All areas are within a 1,200 meter linear extent (1,347 meters with elevation).

Could you be more specific?

No. Not until Turkish and international authorities establish protective measures around the site.

How many loci or installations does the site comprise?

To date, as of March 10, 2014, the site comprises fourteen (14) loci within Area A (the monumental wood structure); two (2) loci in Area B (smaller structures at lower elevations); and one (1) cave site.

How big is the monumental site in Area A at Ararat?

The minimum Length-Width-Height measurements were measured in three ways.

Measuring possible features and artifact scatters, the site is a minimum of 159.23 meters in length; 91.34 meters in width; and 10.21 meters in height.

Measuring between wood fragments, the site is a minimum of 119.88 meters in length; 91.34 meters in width; and 10.21 meters in height.

Measuring between fully or partially intact wood loci, the site is a minimum of 96.53 meters in length; 45.28 meters in width; and 10.21 meters in height.

How old is the site?

The site mostly likely originates from around 9,600 BC (calibrated) as evidenced by the earliest parameter of a C-14 date and artifact seriation—architectural and artifact remains that show analogies to other archaeological sites from around this time period.

How many stories or floors does the site have?

In Area A (the monumental wood structure), at least two: Locus 10 is built directly on Locus 5. However, there are probably three floors in Area A. Locus 5 measures 217 cm in height and Locus 2 measures at least 10.21 meters in height—enabling three Locus 5-like installations to fit comfortably within the superstructure of Area A. 

What is the site made of?

Wood, mostly cypress wood (Cupressus species). 

Does the site show evidence of pitch?

Yes, if “pitch” means bitumen (petroleum based product) or resin (vegetal based substance). A bitumen or resin coating on the wood structures is evidenced in most loci at the site. Specifically, eleven of fourteen loci in Area A and both (2 of 2) loci in Area B display bitumen or resin coating. See Article.

Did other cultures visit the site?

Yes. Besides the Armenian community and the recent explorers and archaeologists, several mostly whole ceramic vessels were found in a locale are analogous to sites from the following periods: Pottery Neolithic, Pottery Neolithic/Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, and Late Bronze Age/Iron Age transition. See Article.

Why was the discovery so recent?

In the last thirty years, the ice on Mount Ararat has receded so that archaeologist can see the surface of the ground. Also, no archaeologists familiar with prehistoric sites surveyed the site until recently. See Article.

How did Mr. Ertugrul find the site?

The prehistoric site was revered by the Armenian community as the location of Noah’s Ark; however, only select leaders of this community knew the location of the site. One of the last Armenian families to leave Turkey told Ertugrul the general location of the site sometime in the 1960s. Ertugrul then searched for the site for decades before he accessed the first locus sometime in the mid-2000s. 

Is the site a hoax?

No. The architecture and artifacts conform to other Late Epipaleolithic / Pre-Pottery Neolithic A sites. 

Could the site have been formed recently?

No. The prehistoric locales are buried beneath several meters (and many thousands of tons) of lithic material and ice. 

Could the site represent columnar basalt?

No. Locus 8 in Area A has waddle architecture or bundles of tree stems wrapped in cords of a vegetal material, most likely flax (a species of Linum). 

Are there dinosaur bones at the site?

No.

Is the site fossilized or permineralized?

No.

Does the site support traditional science?

Yes. The site has the architecture and artifact assemblage that correlates with other known archaeological sites from the Late Epi-Paleolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A periods. 

How many professional archaeologists have been to the site?

Three (3).

Where did they obtain their advanced degrees in Archaeology?

Harvard University and the University of Leiden.

Does the site represent an ice cave?

No. Ancient cultures and the modern discoverers dug sharply-angled passages from the surface of the glacier, through layers of rock and ice, to access the wood structures inside the ice.

Do marks on the wood at the site evidence modern wood cutting techniques?

No. The marks reflect the use of prehistoric adzes (stone axe-like implements) on wood features.

Does Area A reflect the interior of a modern vessel on the Black Sea?

No. The architecture and artifacts at the Ararat prehistoric site are from the Late Epi-Paleolithic / Pre-Pottery Neolithic transition period and located under many layers of stones and ice on Mount Ararat at elevations from 3,000 to 4,700 meters above sea level.

Did trucks drive up the mountain and build the site?

No. Vehicles can only ascend to a little higher than Eli village, to an elevation of around 2,200 meters above sea level. Above this elevation, the area is impassible by vehicles. The monumental wood site in Area A is at least 2,000 meters above Eli village and only accessible by human climbers.

Did horses carry materials to build the site?

No. From the main trail, the route to the archaeological site is extremely hazardous and only accessible by human climbers. The minimum extent of the site is enormous, measuring between fully or partially intact wood loci, 96.53 meters in length; 45.28 meters in width; and 10.21 meters in height. These loci weighing thousands of tons are buried under several meters (and hundreds of thousands of tons) of stone and ice layers.

Does the site represent a movie set?

No. The site possesses architecture and artifacts found in other archaeological sites from the Late Epipaleolithic to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A periods. The Ararat prehistoric site is a genuine, factual archaeological site from a period of tremendous antiquity. The archaeological contexts are made of large cypress timbers weighing thousands of tons, which are buried under hundreds of thousands of tons of glacial ice and lithic material.

Is the site Noah’s Ark?

This is a religious question, involving faith, and not appropriate for this discussion. The Ararat sites represent prehistoric archaeological locales and assemblages of tremendous importance to science. The site was also an object of faith and, from the archaeological evidence, was venerated for thousands of years. See Article. See Article.

What measures have been done to protect the site?

The study of the archaeological features and artifacts began in 2010 and has continued since my involvement with the site. The preliminary archaeological report was completed in 2012 and sent to Turkish, international, and select academic authorities in March of 2013. Archaeologists from the University of Leiden surveyed the remains of two of the structures in May of 2013. The first lecture of the site at professional archaeological conferences occurred in November of 2013. Presentations at professional archaeological conferences continue and submissions to peer-reviewed journals are next on the agenda. Professional archaeologists from Turkey, Europe, and the United States are now involved with the project.

Does the site support the theories of traditional science?

Yes. The archaeological remains and wood features have similarities with other sites from the Late Epipaleolithic / Pre-Pottery Neolithic A transition.

Does the site support the theories of young earth creationism?

Depends on the theory. Conflicting with some theories, the site originates around 9,600 BC (calibrated), contains no dinosaur bones, and is not permineralized. However, the late Henry Morris (a prominent young-earth creationist) stated the flood / post-flood boundary would date to the late Pleistocene period. The Mount Ararat prehistoric site does appear to date from the late Pleistocene/early Holocene transition period.