‘Charred remains of Noah’s Ark’ discovered as researchers unearth burnt wood 30 feet underground

A vast, ship-shaped formation in eastern Turkey has long fueled speculation that the remains of Noah’s Ark could lie hidden beneath its surface.

According to the Bible, the vessel sheltered Noah, his family and animals during a catastrophic flood, dated by some biblical chronologies to more than 4,300 years ago.

Now, researchers investigating the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat have reported finding charred wood underground, raising hopes that it could offer a clue to the biblical mystery. The samples have been sent for testing to establish their age and identify the type of wood.

Andrew Jones, founder of Noah’s Ark Scans and vice president of the project, told the Daily Mail that both charred and uncharred wood had been recovered nearly 30 feet underground, adding that ‘it is possible that we have found the charred remains of Noah’s Ark.’ 

He also acknowledged it might instead come from a shepherd’s campfire ‘he unwittingly decided to start while using the ark for shelter centuries ago.’

The team suggested the wood could have been burned deliberately or exposed to lightning or volcanic activity.

The discovery follows radar scans that Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, a veteran US defense scientist, said revealed patterns resembling chambers and corridors inside the roughly 515-foot-long formation.

‘This is the most significant finding of 45 years of my career. It’s not geologic related, because we masked all the geologic features,’ Bakhtar said.

The wood’s burned appearance has drawn particular interest because the Bible describes Noah being instructed to coat the ark inside and out with pitch, a waterproofing substance that can catch fire.

The team suggested that the burning may also have helped preserve the material, as charring can slow the breakdown of wood in soil.

If the samples eventually prove to be connected to the ark, a fire that damaged the vessel may have helped preserve traces of it.

The formation’s location and boat-like outline have long fueled comparisons with the biblical account, which places the ark’s resting place in the ‘mountains of Ararat.’

The Durupınar Formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest peak.

Researchers also point to its roughly 515-foot length, which they say corresponds to the vessel described in Genesis. 

Using their conversion of biblical measurements, the ark would have measured approximately 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet tall.

Two other major anomalies measured approximately 26 feet and 39 feet high, while another distinct underground feature stood about 23 feet high.

At several locations, the radar detected a layer measuring 16 to 20 feet thick, approximately 16 feet beneath the surface.

The latest investigation builds on a 2019 radar survey that detected straight lines and angular patterns the team interpreted as possible walls, passageways and compartments.

In 2026, Bakhtar examined the formation using a more powerful radar system developed through US Air Force research, capable of reaching deeper underground.

The team reported detecting large underground boundaries and spaces that it interpreted as possible sediment-filled chambers, corridors and tunnels.

Five prominent features appeared to form a possible tunnel system stretching roughly 151 feet, with an average height of more than 14 feet.

Researchers also identified a thick underground layer that appeared to contain three separate sublayers, drawing comparisons with the Bible’s description of an ark built with three decks.

‘In our holy books, Noah’s Ark had three levels; in our radar studies, we also identified a formation with three levels,’ said Dr Cenker Atila, an archaeologist at Sivas Cumhuriyet University in Turkey.

The team claims it has ‘100 percent confirmed’ that the formation is a ‘man-made object’ rather than a natural geological feature.

Jones, who has investigated the area for nearly 30 years, told the Daily Mail that neither radar surveys nor drilling inside the formation had detected limestone or solid bedrock.

‘This destroys the theory that the site is a solid limestone block shaped into a boat by glaciers and weathering after coming down the mountainside, and it also refutes the theory that this is bedrock around which mud flowed to form the shape,’ he said.

However, ruling out those explanations would not, by itself, establish that the formation was built by people.

Radar readings are also not photographs of exposed rooms or passageways. They show how signals respond to different materials and boundaries underground, which must be physically examined to establish what produced them.

The team is using the scans to identify promising locations for further drilling.

Jones acknowledged that the findings have not definitively identified the formation as the biblical vessel.

‘I firmly believe the Durupınar Formation represents the buried remains of Noah’s Ark,’ he said, describing the scans as a ‘compelling new line of evidence’ rather than definitive proof.

Lauren Witzke, director of marketing and fundraising for Noah’s Ark Scans, said the formation’s exposed upper section was deteriorating.

‘The top, and most exposed, tier is decaying, and the hardened mudflow encasing the rims of the boat are basically the only thing holding it together,’ she said.

Witzke said the lower sections appeared better preserved and suggested drilling may have reached a floor of petrified wood. Those descriptions remain the team’s interpretation, with laboratory testing of the recovered samples still pending.

The team also reported finding pottery outside the formation dating from the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, through the Iron Age.

Researchers said the artifacts indicate that people occupied or visited the mountainside over a long period and could help guide further archaeological work.

Witzke suggested some pottery might have been connected to supplies carried aboard the ark or used by Noah’s family after leaving it. Jones acknowledged that pottery alone cannot establish either connection.

The site has attracted attention for decades. Local accounts say heavy rain and earthquakes exposed its unusual outline in 1948, when a Kurdish shepherd reportedly noticed it.

It gained wider recognition in 1959 after Turkish Army Captain İlhan Durupınar spotted its ship-like shape in aerial survey photographs.

Earlier investigators reported finding soil and rocks and concluded that the formation was natural. The current team argues that its new scans and recovered samples warrant further investigation.

‘What excites me most about this phase is that we are transitioning from remote imaging to collecting physical samples deep within the site, allowing us to scientifically evaluate hypotheses that have been debated for decades,’ Jones said.