Archaeologists have had their eyes on what they call the Durupinar formation in a mountain very close to Mt. Ararat on the eastern border of Turkey since the 1960s.
The formation was first discovered by Turkish Army Captain Ilhan Durupinar in 1959.
But soil scientist William Crabtree told Australia's "Today Show" they've recently been looking below the ground using ground-penetrating radar.
Such advanced technology has revealed subterranean layers and angular structures that are not typically associated with natural geological formations.
“There's been four scans done, and those scans are very compelling. There are rectangle shapes inside the boat at three meters and at seven meters depth. There's a tunnel that goes from the tip right down to the middle and it's big enough that you can walk through it," Crabtree said.
He says the density of the soil inside the Durupinar formation gives researchers another clue.
“They say that the organic matter inside that shape is 2 1/2 times outside of the shape,” Crabtree said.
More recently, researchers from Istanbul Technical University, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University and Andrews University analyzed soil samples from around the formation and found traces of clay-like materials, marine deposits, and remnants of marine life, including mollusks. These findings suggest that the region harbored life in the past and was covered by water, reinforcing the possibility of a catastrophic event of great magnitude.
Not everyone is convinced, however.
Some experts maintain that the Durupinar formation is a natural geological structure and not the remains of Noah's Ark. They argue that a wooden structure would not have survived intact over 4,300 years and that building materials would have been scarce after a flood.
Digging deeper on the Ark
Crabtree says the next step is to take some core samples and maybe even take a look inside that tunnel.
“You could drill into the cavities, if they're there, which the scan shows they are, and then you could look around with a camera and that'd be really interesting. That'd blow things away. It would mess up knowledge of geology, really. It's very disruptive,” he said.
Crabtree says that might leave scientists with a rather difficult dilemma. Is it really the Ark?
“The evidence is very hard to ignore. It's very easy to ignore if you don't believe in the biblical story, if you don't believe in the Bible.”
