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.
10/15/2020
Archaeologist Answers Why Prehistoric Sites Associated with Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat Were Recently Discovered | Jan 19, 2013 - R…
www.releasewire.com/press-releases/archaeologist-answers-why-prehistoric-sites-associated-with-noahs-ark-on-mount-ararat-were-recently-discover…
1/4
Sign Up LoginServices Process Newsroom Help About
Email Alerts | RSS
Archaeologist elucidates why the discovery of prehistoric sites associated with Noah’s Ark occurred in the last decade.
Miami, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/19/2013 --For centuries, the account of Noah’s Ark, a Biblical and Quranic account where an
ancient family survived a worldwide deluge on a massive wood vessel and repopulated the globe, has fascinated explorers
and religious adherents of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In 2009, a Chinese religious organization, Noah’s Ark Ministries,
Inc., with a Kurdish guide, a Turkish geologist, archaeologist, and government ministers announced the discovery of the Ark
of Noah. In 2011, Dr. Joel Klenck, a Harvard University educated archaeologist and current president of the archaeological
contract rm PRC, Inc., conrmed the veracity of the site and its prehistoric origin during the Late Epipaleolithic Period
(13,100 to 9,600 B.C.). In this report, the archaeologist opines why the discovery of prehistoric sites on Mount Ararat only
occurred during the last decade.
Klenck states, “The rst problem is the assumption that this site is only a recent discovery. This claim is not correct. For
centuries, there have been reports by a wide array of people from dierent periods—including the Jewish historian
Josephus in the rst century and Russian military ocers in the nineteenth century—conrming the presence of a
monumental, ancient wood structure on Mount Ararat, which they associated with the Ark.”
The archaeologist continues: “The second problem is that few archaeologists completed surveys of Mount Ararat at
elevations above 3,000 meters above sea level. During the last decade, a Turkish archaeologist, Aynur Özrat, completed a
series of archaeological surveys on Mount Ararat. His highest recorded site, K73/2, had an elevation of around 2,300 meters
above sea level. I believe most archaeologists assumed that no habitations would exist above 3,000 meters on Mount
Ararat because above this elevation the mountain is barren of vegetation, dicult to traverse, incurs terrible weather, and
much of the area is covered with ice or large boulders. Perhaps another reason the sites were not found is that surveyors
had backgrounds in historic periods instead of prehistoric archaeology. They looked for ceramic material but perhaps were
not as focused on searching for debitage, lithic tools, or prehistoric features.”
He also doubts prociency of the adventurers that searched for the ark. Klenck remarks, “Randall Price got his degree in
biblical studies; Richard Bright was a former pilot; Don Patton is an adventurer. Other ark researchers had questionable
degrees from unaccredited schools. It surprises me that none of these so-called expeditions for the ark included a survey
archaeologist or someone familiar with anthropological or prehistoric archaeology. Personally, I feel these expeditions were
just trying to make money, instead of surveying for cultural material and archeological sites.”
Klenck states, “I have participated in many archaeological surveys and was taught by, worked with, or was employed by
some of the best survey archaeologists in the world. Most archaeologists, with my background and familiar with
anthropological archaeology and cultural resource management surveys, would have found the archaeological features on
Ararat with relative ease.”
The archaeologist opines why many discounted the discoveries on Ararat: “With big discovery comes big drama. Many
individuals wrote o the discovery because they were misled by a Kurdish tour guide, Murat Sahin, a convicted murderer
who was released from prison in 2009; his American partner, Amy Beam, who was recently deported from Turkey for
crimes against tourists; and a trio of ark searchers: Randall Price, Richard Bright, and Don Patton. These individuals
opposed the discovery for a montage of reasons: tribal rivalry, hysteria, ignorance, emotion, lack of discernment, bias, and
mostly because they proted from bogus Noah’s Ark searches. As a professional archaeologist, I was trained to look past
the drama and dispassionately evaluate cultural material and archaeological features. The prehistoric sites on Mount
10/15/2020
Archaeologist Answers Why Prehistoric Sites Associated with Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat Were Recently Discovered | Jan 19, 2013 - R…
www.releasewire.com/press-releases/archaeologist-answers-why-prehistoric-sites-associated-with-noahs-ark-on-mount-ararat-were-recently-discover…
2/4
Ararat are absolutely factual and there is just so much wonderfully preserved archaeological material of great antiquity at
these sites.”
Klenck concludes, “I am just the rst archaeologist to survey the site, analyze the archaeological material, and the rst
Western archaeologist to conrm the veracity and prehistoric origins of these archaeological features. More archaeologists
and researchers from excellent research institutions will follow me. For an archaeologist, the prehistoric sites on Mount
Ararat represent the Super Bowl of Archaeology—sites elucidating the origins of the Neolithic or age of farming and
associated with an ancient account of greater magnitude than the Trojan War. I feel fortunate that I was able to play a part
in the research, defense, and advocacy of these tremendously important prehistoric sites. I congratulate Ahmet ‘Parasut’
Ertugrul, his family, and friends on the discovery of this site; Noah’s Ark Ministries for their faith; and Turkish and Kurdish
scholars and government ministers for their continued advocacy of these absolutely signicant archaeological features.”
About PRC, Inc.
Founded in 2007, PRC, Inc. provides comprehensive worldwide archaeological services including surveys, excavations, and
research.
Joel Klenck
President
PRC, Inc.
786-277-4844
Email | Web | Prole
10/15/2020
Archaeologist Answers Why Prehistoric Sites Associated with Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat Were Recently Discovered | Jan 19, 2013 - R…
www.releasewire.com/press-releases/archaeologist-answers-why-prehistoric-sites-associated-with-noahs-ark-on-mount-ararat-were-recently-discover…
3/4
Source: PRC, Inc.
Posted Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 10:48 AM CST - Permalink
For information regarding the content of this press release please contact the media relations contact listed above directly.
Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms of Service | Report Abuse
Copyright © 2005 - 2020 - ReleaseWire LLC
All Rights Reserved - Important Disclaimer
10/15/2020
Archaeologist Answers Why Prehistoric Sites Associated with Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat Were Recently Discovered | Jan 19, 2013 - R…
www.releasewire.com/press-releases/archaeologist-answers-why-prehistoric-sites-associated-with-noahs-ark-on-mount-ararat-were-recently-discover…
4/4
linkedin-
icon
Try it now with