The central question remains simple but extraordinary: Is Durupınar merely an unusual geological formation, or could it contain evidence connected to the biblical account of Noah’s Ark?
The current research team is attempting to answer that question with technology and physical sampling rather than relying solely on photographs or visual impressions.
Noah’s Ark Scans, working with Sivas Cumhuriyet University, says the 2026 project is an officially authorized scientific investigation conducted under a formal research plan approved by Turkish authorities. The project is directed by Prof. Dr. Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University’s Department of Archaeology.
The organization describes its work as an international research initiative using geophysical surveys, soil analysis, core drilling and subsurface imaging.
That distinction is important because the project is not simply an excavation operation. Researchers are attempting to map what is beneath the surface while minimizing disturbance to the formation. The team’s stated approach combines ground-penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography, LiDAR, soil studies and core samples.
Now, however, the researchers have begun physically extracting material.
According to Andrew Jones, Vice President of the Noah’s Ark Research Project, cores have been recovered from depths approaching 18 meters, or nearly 60 feet. He says some of the material encountered contains substantial organic matter and that the team has also identified cavities beneath the formation.
“For the first time in history, we are performing an extensive, permitted deep core drilling survey inside and outside the Durupınar Noah’s Ark site, recovering samples from depths of up to 18 meters, nearly 60 feet. So far, we have recovered layers of rich organic material that we believe could be the decayed top-tier remains of the Ark. We are encountering multiple cavities, including one filled with mud and water. No bedrock or solid limestone has so far been identified in the holes drilled inside the formation. These current findings challenge claims that this is simply a natural shape made of limestone or bedrock.”
Those observations are significant to the researchers, but they do not by themselves establish the identity or age of the formation. The team’s own project description says its findings remain suggestive and that the purpose of the investigation is to determine what the geological evidence actually shows.
Then came the drilling incident that has attracted the most attention.
Jones says one of the holes drilled inside the formation reached approximately four to five meters below the surface when the equipment encountered an exceptionally hard layer.
“In one of the holes drilled inside the boat, approximately 4–5 meters below the surface, the drilling system had already penetrated the overlying material, but at this layer, the operation stopped as we struck a layer so hard that the drill bit broke. Petrified or highly mineralized wood are both a possibility we want to investigate through third-party lab testing.”
The possibility of petrified or highly mineralized wood is now one of the questions researchers want independent laboratory analysis to address. At this stage, however, the material has not been publicly established as petrified wood.
Jones has made clear that he personally believes the formation represents the biblical Ark.
“I believe this is Noah’s Ark, that’s why I’m putting the Durupinar site through the most rigorous testing possible.”
For decades, geological interpretations have offered a very different explanation. Skeptics and geologists have argued that the boat-like appearance can be explained through natural geological processes, rather than the remains of an enormous wooden vessel.
The 2026 research campaign is intended to put additional physical evidence on the table.
The team is also preparing a specialized underground robot called GOPHER. Its name is a reference to the “gopher wood” mentioned in the biblical Book of Genesis. The machine is designed to enter narrow boreholes and photograph areas that cannot easily be reached from the surface.
Researchers hope to deploy GOPHER into subsurface voids and corridors identified during previous geophysical surveys. The device is equipped with a high-resolution camera and is intended to provide visual evidence without requiring researchers to open large excavation trenches.
The investigation has attracted support from Lauren Witzke, co-producer of the 2022 film Died Suddenly, who is helping with fundraising and production for the expedition.
In a post discussing the project, Witzke said she became convinced she should participate after what she described as a strong personal religious conviction.
“I can’t explain it, and I don’t know why… I just feel like God wanted me to do this,” Witzke said in the post. “Perhaps God preserved the Ark all these years because He knew that one day a generation would be so deceived by evolutionary lies and modern technology that they would need tangible evidence of His existence to undo the falsehoods their textbooks had taught them.”
Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Cenker Atila has emphasized that the scientific investigation is still underway and that additional laboratory work is necessary.
“In 2026, we conducted an extensive and scientific investigation of the site, including radar surveys, soil sampling, deep core drilling, and surface surveys. Every stage of our research has provided findings that increase our interest in the possibility that this formation may preserve evidence related to Noah’s Ark. Once the detailed soil analyses are completed, we expect to obtain important additional information that may bring us closer to understanding the true nature of the site.”
The project received official authorization in 2026 through Turkish authorities, with Sivas Cumhuriyet University directing the scientific program in cooperation with Noah’s Ark Scans.
Researchers now plan to continue analyzing the recovered material, with additional fieldwork expected in 2027.
Noah’s Ark Scans is also seeking financial support for the ongoing investigation, laboratory testing and future research. The organization says contributions will help fund the scientific work and planned follow-up investigations.
For believers who have followed the Durupınar mystery for generations, the broken drill bit and newly recovered organic material represent another tantalizing chapter.
For geologists and skeptics, the crucial question remains whether independent testing can demonstrate that the material is actually ancient wood—or whether the evidence ultimately points back to a natural geological explanation.
For now, the samples are the key.
The coming laboratory analysis could provide researchers with considerably more information about what is buried beneath the unusual formation. Until those results are independently examined and published, however, the claim that Durupınar is Noah’s Ark remains an open—and highly disputed—question.
