Content uploaded by Joel Klenck
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Joel Klenck on Oct 15, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
10/13/2020 New Support for Alleged Noah’s Ark Discovery | Nov 15, 2011 - ReleaseWire
www.sbwire.com/press-releases/release-114562.htm 1/3
Sign Up LoginOur Service Plans & Pricing Newsroom Help About
Email Alerts | RSS
Archaeologist states there is scientic merit to recent discovery of site associated with the legendary ark of Noah.
Miami, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/15/2011 -- In 2010, the Hong Kong organization Noah’s Ark Ministries International or NAMI
announced they had discovered the legendary vessel on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey and were subsequently accused of
perpetrating a hoax. Now, a professional archaeologist states there is signicant merit to their discovery.
Harvard University educated archaeologist and director of the Paleontological Research Corporation, Dr. Joel Klenck,
surveyed the site, analyzed the archaeological remains and completed a comparative study. “The site is remarkable”, states
Klenck, “and comprises a large all-wood structure with an archaeological assemblage that appears to be mostly from the
Late Epipaleolithic Period.” These assemblages at other sites in the Near East have calibrated radiocarbon dates between
13,100 and 9,600 B.C. Located at elevations above 4,200 meters on Mount Ararat and covered by layers of ice and stones,
he states: “The site is wonderfully preserved, exhibits a wide array of plant materials including structures made of cypress
and one room with a oor covered by chickpea seeds.” Klenck additionally notes, “I was most impressed by the artifactual
assemblage, particularly the basalt bowls, stone cores and debitage.”
It also appears that the site was visited in later periods. Two small ceramic bowls from the Chalcolithic (5,800-3,000 B.C.)
and Bronze Age (3,000-1,200 B.C.) periods were placed in one of the rooms of the structure. He adds, “These artifacts most
likely represent brief later visits to the site since these bowls dier from the Epipaleolithic remains that comprise nearly all
of the assemblage.”
Klenck reports, “The surface scatter of the wood above the large structure is 121.1 meters in length and 23.8 meters in
width. The construction is at least 5.2 meters deep and several measurements of the exterior walls exhibit angles moving
inward toward the base of the edice. Also, there are stair-like features that descend through the middle of the multi-
storied structure and mortise-and-tenon construction.” He remarks, “That this large wood structure is located on Mount
Ararat, with what appears to be a mostly Epipaleolithic assemblage, is noteworthy.”
“The site is no hoax,” Klenck states, “and the size and excellent preservation of the edice will enable it to be studied by
numerous scholars.” He notes, “The large wood structure is buried under tons of stones and ice and most of the edice
remains unexplored.”
Regarding the initial carbon dating of the site at 4,800 B.C. by NAMI, Klenck states the initial discovery team comprised
people with limited archaeological experience. He remarks, “Instead of obtaining samples from cores and unexposed
locales and wrapping them in tin-foil, surface samples were retrieved with bare hands or cotton gloves. The date most likely
reects a sample that was contaminated by ancient visitors or modern explorers to the site. Most of the assemblage
portrays a much earlier period.” He notes that all future radiocarbon samples should be delivered to archaeology
departments at Istanbul University that will date the artifacts or send the samples to archaeometry facilities at the
University of Berlin.
He also notes that a nearby cave exhibits artifacts similar to those in the large wood structure. Klenck states the cave site
possesses botanical remains of chickpea, ax bers and rope, pieces of fabric, bone artifacts, and vessels made of an
organic material. He adds, “In both the large wood structure and cave, most of the bowls are made of an organic material,
10/13/2020 New Support for Alleged Noah’s Ark Discovery | Nov 15, 2011 - ReleaseWire
www.sbwire.com/press-releases/release-114562.htm 2/3
perhaps animal stomachs, and the aps are folded over wood or bone collars. Several of these bowls resemble early
ceramic types from the subsequent Pottery Neolithic Period (6,400-5,800 B.C.).” Klenck opines, “These artifacts prompt
questions if bowls made from organic materials inuenced the rst pottery styles.”
“These sites are extremely important for archaeologists and conservators,” states Klenck, “particularly with regard to the
preservation of wood and plant materials and the examination of architectural features. He is emphatic that the Antiquities
Authority of Turkey needs to protect the research area and allow only approved archaeologists and conservators to visit the
sites. “These precautions must be completed”, remarks Klenck, “to prevent adventurers and local mountain guides from
breaking o pieces of wood and removing artifacts from the research area.”
He states the initial skepticism of the archaeological community is understandable but will fade as more researchers and
conservators complete their analyses and publish reports in scientic journals. Klenck adds, “Here, the evidence is wide
ranging. Also, very little of the structure is surveyed and much of the site is inaccessible being covered or blocked by ice.”
The discoveries on Mount Ararat coincide with academic discussions on the transition between the Pleistocene and
Holocene epochs during the Younger Dryas stadial (10,900-9,500 B.C.) and the beginning of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
Period, around 9,600 B.C., where the rst village communities in southeastern Turkey became associated with intensive
agriculture and plant and animal domestication. Klenck states, “Some scholars see this transition period as cataclysmic with
dramatic increases in sea-levels, ooding, animal extinctions, and decreases in human populations; others assert this phase
was simply a cold, dry period evidenced by sparse vegetation.” “In the midst of this debate,” he notes, “there is a large all-
wood structure and a cave, with artifacts resembling an Epipaleolithic assemblage, at a high elevation on Mount Ararat.”
Klenck concludes: “The Ararat sites are very special because of their preservation and unique insight into the prehistoric
past.”
Joel Klenck
Director of Research
Paleontological Research Corporation
786-277-4844
Email | Web | Prole
Source: PRC, Inc.
Posted Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 12:01 PM CST - Permalink
For information regarding the content of this press release please contact the media relations contact listed above directly.
Security Policy | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Report Abuse
Copyright © 2005 - 2020 - SBWire, a service of ReleaseWire LLC
All Rights Reserved - Important Disclaimer
Customer Support
Knowledgebase