Harvard University educated archaeologist and director of the Paleontological Research Corporation, Joel Klenck, reported that there was archaeological merit to a large wood structure near the summit of Mount Ararat discovered by a Kurdish guide, Ahmet “Parasut” Ertugrul.
An organization from Hong Kong, Noah’s Ark Ministries International, reported the discovery as the remains of the legendary vessel. In 2010, Turkish geology and archaeology professors, Ahmet Ozbek and Oktay Belli, cited the excellent preservation and comprehensive archaeological assemblages within the edifice. However, Randall Price from Liberty University and Don Patton from Creation Ministries International claim the site is a hoax.
Klenck states, “Although the correlation between Noah’s ark and the large wood structure on Mount Ararat is controversial, the site comprises a definitive prehistoric archaeological site of great importance.” Regarding Patton’s claim that modern wood in natural fissures on Mount Ararat provides proof of a fraud, Klenck counters, “Patton’s findings were not near the research area and differ from the cypress timbers and planks, often weighing hundred of kilograms, associated with the ancient wood structure and its archaeological assemblage.” He believes Patton’s “backpack-sized wood” was interred in natural ice fissures by those eager to discredit the archaeological site on Mount Ararat for financial and emotional reasons.
Concerning Price’s allegation that Parasut and a small team built the structure on Mount Ararat, Klenck states, "That claim is incorrect." He states, "The site is large, perhaps over one-hundred meters in length, at least two floors deep, and buried under as much as fifteen meters of stones and ice." He continues, "Parasut and his team did not build the features instead they removed ice and stones from previously excavated passages formed as late as the Bronze Age, as evidenced by a small bowl from this period, to access the site."
Regarding the site's superior preservation, Klenck notes, “Many people are familiar with the ancient hunter recovered in 1991 in the Schnalstal glacier in the Otztal Alps. The Ararat archaeological features have even better conservation factors since these loci are preserved in multiple layers of rocks, ice, and wood, the archaeological equivalent of a Russian matryoshka doll.” He concludes: “I congratulate Parasut, the Ertugrul family, Chinese explorers, Turkish scholars and government officials that discovered and now defend the efficacy of these remarkable prehistoric sites.”
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