They’ve started drilling for Noah’s Ark.
For more than six decades, researchers have argued over a strange boat-shaped formation near Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey.
Some believe it could be connected [music] to the biblical story of Noah’s Ark.
Others have argued that it’s simply a natural geological formation.
What we’re seeing in the subsurface scans is highly intriguing.
It’s a unique formation.
We have gathered evidence worth testing.
But now something has changed.
They’re drilling into it.
In 2026, Turkey authorized a new geological research project at the Durapanar Formation.
The project is being led by archaeologist Professor Sinker Atila of Civas Kumhury University together with the Noah’s Arc scans research team.
And unlike earlier investigations that relied heavily on photographs, mapping and geohysical scanning, this phase is actually taking physical samples from underground.
Researchers say they have been drilling to depths of up to 18 meters both inside the boat-shaped formation and at control locations outside it.
The idea is simple.
Find out what is actually underneath the ground.
And then the drilling produced a bizarre development.
According to the research team, one bore hole reached roughly 4 to 5 m below the surface when the drill encountered a layer hard enough to break the drilling bit.
The team has suggested that petrified or highly mineralized wood is one possibility, but that’s important.
They don’t know what the material is yet.
The broken drill bit doesn’t prove that they found wood, and it certainly doesn’t prove that they found Noah’s Ark.
The material now has to be examined through laboratory testing, and the drilling team says it has also recovered layers of organic rich material and encountered multiple underground cavities, including one cavity that filled with mud and water.
And drilling isn’t the only thing happening.
Researchers are also preparing an underground exploration robot called Gaur.
The idea is to use existing bore holes as access points and send the small robotic system into underground voids and corridors that the team says were previously identified through geohysical [music] surveys.
Instead of excavating a massive trench across the formation, [music] they want to send a camera underground that could allow researchers to directly inspect spaces that until now were visible only through scanning data.
But here’s the bigger question.
Why has this strange formation been linked to Noah’s ark in the first place?
What exactly does the site look like?
What have previous surveys discovered beneath it?
And what evidence has kept this debate alive for more than half a century?
To understand why these new drill holes matter, we need to go back to the beginning.
Okay, next one goes right here.
Copy that.
Setting the mallet now.
The readings on the tablet confirm the tertiary layer.
Yes, the boundary is right where we predicted.
Look at the color change right here.
It’s much denser than the top soil.
We should map this boundary.
Careful with the picks near the main strut.
All right, follow the line up.
We’ve got movement on the south side.
Slow down the drilling on the east side.
We are hitting timber.
Copy that.
All teams, proceed with caution.
Heat.
Heat.
[music] The scale is unprecedented.
These structural ribs are clearly part of a massive ancient vessel.
We have a confirmed structural breach at grid reference gamma 7.
All teams maintain current positions and await further instruction.
According to these plans, the support goes right here.
All right, let’s get the measurements.
Watch the edge.
Get that onto the belt.
Yeah.
Almost clear here.
Look right here.
Unbelievable.
This changes everything.
All right.
Bring it up slowly to the third tier.
Watch the clearance on the main support beam.
Keep it moving.
Secure that beam.
Ra’s coming.
Double time.
Watch that beam coming up on the left.
All right.
Easy now.
Easy.
We need more clamps on level seven.
A little higher on this side.
Copy that.
Raising it up.
Steady.
Steady.
All right, set it down.
All right, this one’s secure.
Let’s move up to the next fracture point.
Got it.
Need another bracket here.
Ease now.
Easy.
A little more to the right.
Hold it there.
Bring it down another few feet.
Watch the alignment on the lower bolts.
Easy.
Easy.
Bring it down slow.
Watch the corner on your side.
All right.
Hold it there.
All right.
Bring it down.
Easy.
Clear on the left.
Go.
We need the mallets over here.
Now watch the clearance on level three.
Lower the beam now.
All right, secure that bracket tight.
It’s settling now.
Alignment confirmed.
Good work.
[music] Build the ark.
Strong and true.
Build the ark.
We see it through.
All right, this section looks good on the schematic.
Secured the last bolt.
Ready for inspection.
Ensure coverage on that upper seam.
It’s very porous.
We are applying the second coat now.
Almost finished here.
Torque set on bracket 12.
Confirmed.
Move to the next.
Next one.
Okay.
Slowly bring it down now.
Watch the clearance.
The clearance on sector 4.
Copy that.
Lowering the segment.
Heat.
Heat.
Look at the sheer size of these ribs.
I’ve never seen anything like it.
My scanner is picking up incredible density readings.
Look at the size of these timbers.
I’ve never seen anything like it.
Check the stress points on level four.
All right, team.
Maintain the pressure.
Long even passes across the surface.
Keep it coming.
I need more pitch for this joint.
All right.
Make sure it penetrates the grain well.
I can’t believe the size of this thing.
How are we supposed to finish the upper deck by next week?
Keep moving.
We’ve got a lot to cover.
Look at the size of that beam.
It must [music] be 50 ft long.
The structural integrity seems sound according to the SC.
[music] Heat.
Heat.
