Whangarei man plans expedition for Noah's Ark 17 August 2004 Computer programmer Ross Patterson, of Whangarei, is convinced that a mound of earth about 12km from Mt Ararat in Turkey contains the remains of the Biblical Noah's Ark. The Bible says Noah was commanded by God to build the ark and herd two specimens of all animal life into it before a great flood which lasted 40 days and 40 nights. Mr Patterson, a devout Christian, said today there was strong evidence that the events depicted in the Bible occurred. He had visited the site, almost 2000m above sea level, twice and said a need to prove the theory and the associated religious implications had taken over his life. Together with two other Northlanders, Geoff McColl and Des Palamountain, he is fundraising to revisit the site before the end of October, the end of the northern summer. The expedition hopes to add weight to earlier research by controversial American author, the late Ron Wyatt. Mr Wyatt's research revealed petrified timber and rivets made of iron under the surface of the mound. A radar scan of the site also showed that structures resembling bulkheads existed under the surface. Large stones found at nearby villages also resembled drogue or anchor stones, Mr Patterson said. The mound also matched measurements of the ark described in the Bible and a drilling operation revealed animal hair deep inside the mound. The Turkish Government had since acknowledged the site, Mr Patterson said. "What we intend to do ... is to place a small camera into the hole to see if there are any man-made structures under there," he said. Any evidence pointing to man-made structures beneath the surface would add credibility to Mr Wyatt's research, he said. If the expedition did not shed any light on the subject then those on the team would be the first to accept it. "People can make up their own minds. The public are a jury. Our job is to present the evidence and the case. They make up their own minds. It's like in court; you have to prove things beyond reasonable doubt," Mr Patterson said. "We expect to find something but, if we don't find something, we have to be fair. " New Zealand Skeptics Association spokesman Dennis Dutton was critical of the expedition. He said the great flood legend was older than the Old Testament itself. It went back to a pre-Homeric epic originating from the ancient civilisation of Mesopotamia . "It's a shame that people can't appreciate the rich literary and moral teachings of the Old Testament for that. Moral information, yes; literal history ... get a grip," he says. SOURCE: |