Noah’s Ark Expedition 1969

This episode discusses a piece of wood recovered from Mount Ararat during a 1969 expedition, believed to be remnants of Noah’s Ark. The artifact is housed in the Creation Evidence Museum, and was gifted to the author, who has since created holographic images of it. Historical explorations and geological analyses support its significance and authenticity.

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(above): An art print of Ararat by Elfred Lee, commemorating the Noah’s Ark expedition of 1969. Signed by the exploration team. Collection of the author.

Today on Celebrate the Bible, we’ll examine a very interesting piece of biblical history. It is a piece of wood brought back from Mt. Ararat … from a 1969 American expedition to find Noah’s Ark.

As with all of my other episodes, if you are listening to this as a podcast, and would like to see the photos associated with this episode, you can do so by going to my WordPress site at celebratethebible250.com. If you don’t see the link to the story, just type “noahs ark” into the search box, and the result will come up.

(above): The main piece of wood brought back from the Noah’s Ark expedition to Mt. Ararat. The cuts were made for laboratory sample research.

On Thursday, January 28, 2016, a private plane landed in Allentown, Pennsylvania’s Queen City Airport. It was carrying one of the rarest biblical artifacts in the world today. This artifact is wood purportedly from what remains of Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat. It was brought to Allentown, Pennsylvania from the Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas.

Museum director Dr. Carl Baugh states, “This tooled wood was retrieved from Mount Ararat in 1969 by the Scientific Exploration and Archaeological Research Foundation expedition led by Dr. Bud Crawford. Verification of this particular piece of wood was made on my “Creation in the 21st Century” TBN television program by expedition member Elfred Lee … who personally carried the wood down the mountain in his backpack. The family of the late Dr. Crawford presented the documented wood to the Creation Evidence Museum.”

(above): Dr. Carl Baugh (l) gives a cut of the Noah’s Ark expedition wood to the author (r) for his Celebrate the Bible collection in 2016.

We all enjoyed an informal dinner together the previous night. It was during the dinner when Dr. Baugh surprised my wife Debi and me. He gave us a most unexpected gift: a piece of the Noah’s Ark wood for our Celebrate the Bible collection. It had been cut off the main piece by a specialist in Chicago. During his presentation, Dr. Baugh stated, “Only a very few people in the entire world have been presented with a cut of this Ark Expedition wood.” It was a great moment of honor.

Then, upon arrival at my laser holography studio, we recorded the main piece of wood. It was captured as a series of three-dimensional laser images. These images are called holograms. They were the first laser holograms in the world to be made of any sample.

(above): The larger piece of wood is shown being held in place for laser holographic recording. It is shown being illuminated with laser light in the author’s holography lab in 2016.

These planks of hand-tooled, pitched wood timber were found at 14,000 feet above sea level on Mount Ararat in Turkey. For comparison, Mt. Washington in the United States is only 6,288 feet above sea level.

Mt. Ararat covers over 500 square miles.

It has canyons twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. It has the largest ice cap in the world: nearly 20 square miles of ice, 300 to 800 feet thick. There are no trees at 14,000 feet. The type of wood that was found is not found growing within 300 miles of the site.

The wood samples have been chemically tested and shown to be sealed with pitch. The pitch plus the encasement in ice preserved the wood. Every year 15 feet of snow falls during a nine-month period. Then, during the summer months, much of it melts. Its calculated encasement size has been reported to be “as long as a city block”. Some reports have it located in several places, and in several pieces.

(above): The holographic recording set-up in the authors laser lab. 2016.

Most likely, no one will ever come across the ark remaining as it was built. Any where at any time. Several recent findings, including penetrating satellite radar, suggest that the ark is broken into several large pieces. It is encased in snow and ice, at an elevation of 15,000+ feet. Other smaller pieces of ark wood are scattered throughout the mountain below. Glaciers carried, broke, and splintered them with their crushing movement.

(above): The 1969 SEARCH Foundation expedition team. Photo by Elfred Lee.

Thousands of years of storms and glacial movement have torn it completely apart. Thermal cycles and even earthquakes have contributed to this destruction. It is estimated that there could be 50 tons of hand tooled timber. Many pieces are up to 150 feet long in this area of the mountain.

Nearby, a 75-foot-wide, 65-foot-high ledge is reported. It is about 4 feet thick. This ledge is made up of tons of fish, snails, crabs, and clams. They are all petrified, but perfectly preserved. May I restate that these aquatic fossils are found at 13,800 feet above sea level.

(above): Close up of the recorded holographic image of the Noah’s Ark expedition wood sample. Made in the author’s laser hologram lab in 2016.

Some people claim that large quantities of wood could have been taken up the mountain. They suggest it was planted there to make it look like the expedition wood came from Noah’s Ark. Don’t believe it. The environment of Ararat at 14,000 feet is raw and unpredictable. It is wild and dangerous, and sometimes, deadly. It is unlike anything else that we know of in this world.

Each day. Every day.

Year round.

It’s enough just to get yourself up to that level. Imagine trying to haul estimated tons of fossilized lengths of pitched wood. No, I do not think anyone hauled all that wood up to the summit of Mount Ararat.

(above): The author displays his Noah’s Ark expedition cut sliver. He includes this in his live presentations when requested.

Explorers have been returning with wood for over a thousand years. The Saint Hakob of Akori Ministry, founded in 341 A.D., was said to have contained relics of wood from the Biblical Ark of Noah. The Monastery was totally destroyed during the famous earthquake of 1840. The earthquake also destroyed entire villages, and upwards of 10,000 people were killed. A volcanic eruption from the northern slope of the summit also accompanied the quake.

There is also the Cathedral Of Echmiadzin, constructed in 309 A.D., which houses a Noah’s Ark reliquary containing wood found on Mount Ararat in the 13th century. It has been reported that this wood in particular has been carbon dated to 6000 years old. It remains on display to this day.

Dr. Baugh himself was a part of a Mount Ararat expedition team from USA in 1990. During this time, fighting broke out between the Kurdish rebels and the Turkish military. The authorities were very concerned for their safety. They climbed to the high camp from the south side of the mountain. After reaching the camp, they received orders to get off the mountain. They had to stop their search.

(above): Sliver of wood from the Noah’s Ark expedition (under magnification). Collection of the author.

Do I believe that what remains of Noah’s Ark is there on Mount Ararat? Yes, I do. Do I believe that there are those that want to hamper the truth that it is there? Yes, I most certainly do. Do I believe the petrified, pitched wood from my laser lab in 2016 is from the Ark itself? Yes, I do.

And the more historical research I conduct, the more I believe it to be true.

So, until we meet again, and for celebratethebible250, this is Francis Douglas.

If you would like me to give a presentation at your church, school, gallery, or organization, please let me know. My contact information is below.

The topic I cover is the History of the Christian Holy Bible in America.

And I can bring the Noah’s Ark wood with me for my presentations.

I will be available for Southern New Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Northern Delaware.

RESOURCES:

Download the PDF document listed below to learn more about the expeditions to Mt. Ararat in search of Noah’s Ark:

The Explorers of Ararat 1969-1987 (Download PDF 1.5 Mb)

CONTACT (for presentation inquiries only please):

Available for Southern New Jersey, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Northern Delaware.

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