The Discovery of Noah’s Ark By: John F. Graff
Graff Publishing Company West Chester, Pa.
The plane landed in Iraq with a thump, and Alex Arthur Wyatt bounced in his seat. Alex will begin sixth grade in a month. He is obsessed with archaeology and ancient history. He is taking a trip with his cousin, Ron Wyatt, an archaeologist, to try to find Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat. Mt. Ararat is located in Eastern Turkey on the borders of Iran, Armenia, and Nakchivan. This volcanic mountain rises 16,945 feet high, far above the plains that are at 2,000-3,000 feet high, and is the highest location in the ancient territory of Urartu.
They had traveled from Miami, Florida, USA, and have just arrived in Iraq. Now they will travel by car on to Turkey. They walked through the crowded airport to the car they rented, a red Ferrari Enzo. Alex and Ron drove from Iraq to Mt. Ararat, Turkey, and during the ride, Alex remembered a verse he had read in the Bible, Genesis 8:4-5, "And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen." Alex had made a secret plan to find Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat alone.
They arrived at their campsite at the base of Mt. Ararat and immediately set up camp. By the time Ron and Alex were finished, it was 8:00, so they went to bed. As soon as Ron was asleep, Alex took out a book that he had borrowed from the library in Miami that had an aerial photo of Mt Ararat in it. As he studied it by flashlight for the 50th time, he again saw a boat shaped figure which might be Noah’s Ark. Alex thought, “I can’t wait to put my secret plan in action.”
At 2:00 AM, Alex woke up and silently headed out of camp in search of Noah’s Ark. It was very dark and cold. Alex could hardly see his breath in the air. He was finally looking for Noah’s Ark all by himself. He felt very excited but nervous.
After climbing for quite a while in the soft grass, Alex felt the ground harden. Alex wondered why the ground had turned hard so fast. It was now mid-morning, and he was at about 7,000 feet high, climbing in the middle of crevasses and landslide debris. He then discovered a clear, grassy area shaped like a ship and rimmed with steep, packed-earth sides. Alex remembered that the dimensions of Noah’s Ark given in Genesis are, ”The length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, the breadth of it 50 cubits, and the height of it 30 cubits,” that is, 450x75x45 feet, and the thing he saw looked close to the size that was described in Genesis.
He walked around what apperared to be a ship, and Alex saw the symmetrical shape of the ark. The shape looked like the hull of a ship. One end was pointed like the bow of a ship, and the opposite end was blunt like a stern. It had a center mound that might be the deck area that had collapsed.
On the starboard side (right) near the stern, he saw four vertical bulges sticking out from the mud. He thought they might be the ribs of the hull. Opposite to these, on the port side (left), he saw a single rib protruding from the mud. He could see its curved shape very clearly. Surrounding it, he saw more ribs buried in the mud.
Alex remembered that this object, if it is the Ark, is extremely old. The wood from the ark would be petrified. Only the shapes and traces of the original wood would remain. Upon closer looking, he saw what appeared to be an 18-inch deck plank with a few visible nails. It seemed to be made of three layers of petrified wood with dark pitch on top. “Maybe it’s petrified gopher wood,” he thought.
Alex walked around the ark a couple more times. A few feet away from the ark Alex found a metal wedge. To Alex it appeared to be ballast, heavy material placed low in a vessel to improve its steadinesss, from the ship. Alex guessed, “Maybe it had been poured into the hull, had hardened, and took the shape of the hull.�
Alex walked 60 feet out from the ark and found a peice of pottery with a carving on it. To him it seemed to be a man building something. “Maybe Noah,� he pondered.
“ALEX!! Where are you?” Ron called. “I’m here! Look, I think I stumbled on Noah’s Ark!” exclaimed Alex. Ron yelled ,“You what?” Alex excitedly responded, “Noah’s Ark, I might have found it.” “Wow, I think you did!” said Ron in awe. “Well, here’s my camera, take some pictures.” Alex and Ron took many pictures, and Alex put the metal wedge and the pottery shard in his backpack to take home.
Alex’s cousin, Ron Wyatt.
They excitedly returned back to camp and celebrated Alex’s surprise discovery. After a few days, they went home. Alex couldn’t believe that he had possibly found Noah’s Ark and a couple of artifacts. After that day, Alex wanted to learn all he could about Noah’s Ark and the artifacts he had found. To learn more about the history of Noah’s Ark, he went online and to the libray and read everything he could.
Two weeks later... “So class, what did you do over summer break?” asked Alex’s sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Graff. Alex raised his hand. “Um,” Mrs. Graff looked at the paper she was holding, “Alex, what did you do?” “I went to Mt. Ararat, Turkey, and found Noah’s Ark,” responded Alex. “No way!” shouted Ivan Read, “I want proof!” “You want proof?” Alex asked. “Then take a look at this photo...”
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Resources) X "Noah's Ark Search Mount Ararat." Noah's Ark Search Mount Ararat. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2013.
X "Noah's Ark Overview." Noah's Ark Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2013.
X "Shocking Discovery: Noah's Ark Found! | Christian News." Before It's News. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2013.
X "Noahs Ark." Noahs Ark. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2013.
X "Noah's Ark Found. Great Evidence." Squidoo. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2013.
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Photos) X Title page: http://transitionvoice.com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/12/noahs arkafloat.jpg X Page 1: http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/~Biblical%20Cosmology/cosmology. files/Mt.%20Ararat.gif X Page 2: http://www.seminarium.paulini.pl/foto/news/big/25273e0e2cc b2d59cb2a5095d2d073f0.jpg X Page 3: http://i3.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/590/draft_le ns2019117module25457712photo_1238900948Original_Cap_I LHAN_Durupinar_1959.JPG X Page 4: http://www.araratexpedition.com/images/araratimg/mountar aratk04.jpg X Page 5: http://www.wyattmuseum.com/images/wpe109.jpg
X Page 6: http://www.arkdiscovery.com/P1050032.JPG X Page 7: http://www.arkdiscovery.com/P1040870.JPG X Page 8: http://www.arkdiscovery.com/P1010203.JPG X Page 9: http://www.arkdiscovery.com/arkwedge4vid.JPG X Page 10: http://www.arkdiscovery.com/noahhammerblueDSCN3160% 20PRINT.jpg X Page 11: http://www.arkman.us/sitebuilder/images/Ron_Wyatt249x260 .jpg X Page 12: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/medialive/photos /000/196/cache/noahsarkmountmtararat_19640_600x450.j pg?01RI=43AE35D56BF1704,cm:akamai.turn.com%2fr%2fbe acon%3fb2%3dD_UJDjIQAxOberzEFeM3x62_9d49SKEAJ5Zb G5ARJKpUS1YLnZKROZUHW2EWI9RE0qrora_KKkFlZOVlz4I A&01NA=ck& X
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