A chronological timeline of expeditions & sightings

Aug 3, 2005

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–The search for Noah’s Ark is by no means a new enterprise. Ron Stewart, author of Noah’s Ark: A Scientific Look, Past And Future, has documented more than 100 expeditions and Ark sightings, dating back as far as 2500 BC. Among the most notable recordings through 1990:

BC 475 – A Chaldean priest reported the Ark’s remains could be seen at the bottom of a mountain glacier.

BC 30 – The Egyptian historian Hieronimus said the remains of the Ark could be seen on Mt. Ararat.

AD 50 – In the first century after Christ, historians Nicholas of Damascus and Flavius Josephus both told Noah’s story in a way that agreed with the biblical account; both also reported that the remains of the Ark were still preserved in their time.

560 – St. Isadore reported that the wood of the Ark could be seen on the mountain.

620 – Byzantine Emperor Heraclius was reported to have climbed Ararat and seen the Ark after conquering the territory.

1269 – Explorer Marco Polo reported finding the Ark after a three-day climb in “the snowy reaches of a very high mountain” – at the bottom of the summit, not at the peak.

1647 – Explorer Adam Olerius reported seeing the petrified remains of the Ark.

1829 – Frederick Parrot reported seeing wood relics made from the Ark at the base of Mt. Ararat in a cathedral that was destroyed in an earthquake in 1840.

1832-1850 – Multiple expeditions launched by Turkey, Russia and England failed to find the Ark.

1856 – Two atheist British scientists climbed Ararat to disprove the existence of the Ark, but reported finding a “chest-like” shape made of petrified wood at 15,000 feet on the northeast side of Ararat. Efforts to burn the Ark reportedly failed because the wood was petrified.

1883 – The Turkish government reported that an expedition located the Ark at 14,000 feet and saw animal cages and stalls.

1887 – Indian explorer John Nouri made three expeditions, during which he claimed to have located the Ark – and recommended removing it for the 1900 World’s Fair.

1917 – Photos and measurements of the Ark reportedly were taken by a Russian military expedition – but were lost when Czar Nicholas was overthrown.

1945 – Turkish soldier claimed to have photographed the Ark from an airplane.

1948 – A Turkish farmer reported seeing a boxlike structure above 11,000 feet on Ararat.

1949 – Aerial photograph recorded a formation on the mountain that resembles a ship, with dimensions that fit the biblical account of the Ark.

1952 – Pilot claimed military took pictures of the Ark at 12,000 feet.

1990 – Laser enhancement of satellite photo reportedly clarified a boxlike shape, broken in half.

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