The Ark comes to rest on a moutain in the "moutains of Ararat" in eastern Turkey, which was formerly Armenian terrority, at an elevation several thousand feet higher than it is today.

A volcano erupts in the area. It could have possibly been Mt. Ararat or a or a volcano 25 miles away in Iran.

A mud slide, caused by the immense volcanic eruption flows down the mountain side and drags the Ark 1 1/2 miles to its current location. The Ark is subsequently buried in mud and lost in history for several thousand years.

The Ark leaves its inital imprint on top of the moutain that it once came to rest upon.

Captain Ilhan Durupinar on a NATO mapping mission in 1949 photographs the unusual ship shapped object. Upon further inspection of the photographs an investigation team is sent to the site.

Another earthquake in 1978 causes the ground around the Ark to drop, exposing more of the structure.

All that is left now is the imprint it left behind along with the occassional discoveries of petrified wood, iron and metal. It's possible the structure is still intact and buried underneath the mud, but only an excavation would prove this to be true. The theory is similar to the disovery of the Viking ship, Sutton Hoo, who's imprint was left and later discovered by archeologist.

The Viking Ship, Sutton Hoo