Ararat anomaly

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Picture of the Ararat anomaly taken by the US Defense Intelligence Agency in 1949

The Ararat anomaly is an object appearing on photographs of the snowfields at the summit of Mount Ararat, Turkey, and advanced by some believers in Biblical literalism as the remains of Noah's Ark.

1 Overview
2 In search of Biblical literalism
3 Ararat anomaly and Durupinar site
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Overview

The anomaly is located on the northwest corner of the Western Plateau of Mount Ararat (approximately 39°42′10″N, 44°16′30″E) at about 15,500 feet (4,724 meters), some 2.2 kilometers west of the 16,854 feet (5,137 metres) summit, on the edge of what appears from the photographs to be a steep downward slope. It was first filmed during a US Air Force aerial reconnaissance mission in 1949 - the Ararat massif sits on the Turkish/Soviet border, and was thus an area of military interest. The film was given a routine classification of "Secret" as were subsequent photographs taken in 1956, 1973, 1976, 1990 and 1992, by aircraft and satellites. Six frames from the 1949 footage were released under the Freedom of Information Act to Porcher Taylor, a scholar at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies specializing in satellite intelligence and diplomacy, in 1995.

A joint research project was later established between Insight Magazine and Space Imaging (now GeoEye), using the IKONOS satellite. IKONOS, on its maiden voyage, captured the anomaly on August 5 and September 13, 2000. The Mount Ararat area also has been imaged by France's SPOT satellite in September 1989, Landsat in the 1970s and NASA's Space shuttle in 1994, as well as military satellite images captured by the CIA's KH-9 (Keyhole 9) in 1973 and KH-11 (Keyhole 11) in 1976 and 1990–1992.

[edit] In search of Biblical literalism

Picture of the Ararat anomaly taken by the US Central Intelligence Agency in 1973

Many members of the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths believe that the anomaly is in fact Noah's Ark, the discovery of which would help validate their belief in the literal truth of their holy texts. The anomaly has yet to be explored. An expedition which was to have been mounted to the summit in July 2004 by Honolulu businessman Daniel McGivern was called off when permission was refused by the Turkish authorities (the area is within a restricted military zone) [1]. The McGivern expedition was labelled a "stunt" by National Geographic News, which pointed out that the expedition leader, a Turkish academic named Ahmet Ali Arslan, had previously been accused of faking claimed photographs of the Ark (or anomaly) [2].

The "Noah's Ark" claims are not taken seriously by mainstream archaeology. The Defence Intelligence Agency, which has custody of the images, has analysed the anomaly as showing "linear facades in the glacial ice underlying more recently accumulated ice and snow" [3].

[edit] Ararat anomaly and Durupinar site

The Ararat anomaly is frequently confused with the Durupinar site, a feature some 18 miles from the mountain claimed by adventurer Ron Wyatt and his associate David Fasold to be the genuine original Noah's Ark [4]. Formations similar to the Durupinar site are common in the Ararat area, and have been identified as being of geological origin [5].