Team sends robot into Turkey site believed to hold Noah’s Ark

An international team of researchers has begun core drilling at the Durupınar Formation in eastern Turkey, sending an underground robot into boreholes and recovering what they describe as organic material from nearly 60 feet below the surface in what they call the largest permitted scientific expedition in the site's history.

Noah's Ark Scans, a U.S.-based research group, announced on September 23 that drilling was underway at the 515-foot boat-shaped formation near Mount Ararat, a site that has drawn speculation about a connection to the biblical vessel since it was first identified in aerial photographs in 1959. On September 24, the group posted footage on X from its Gopher drone, a small underground robot equipped with a high-resolution camera, describing it as the "first look" at footage from "inside Noah's Ark".yahoo+1

What Researchers Say They Found

The 2026 field season, directed by archaeologist Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University, brought together roughly 20 researchers from five countries over about 90 days of fieldwork. The team collected approximately 1,000 soil samples from around 150 locations and used ground-penetrating radar to map subsurface features.gadgetreview+1

Andrew Jones, founder of Noah's Ark Scans, said the team recovered "layers of rich organic material" and encountered underground cavities, including one containing mud and water. In one borehole, drilling stopped roughly 13 to 16 feet below the surface when the bit shattered against a hard layer. Jones said petrified or mineralized wood is "one possibility" the team wants tested. Preliminary soil measurements indicated the formation's interior contains roughly 40 percent more carbon than surrounding soil, according to Gadget Review.newsweek+2

Radar scans also identified subsurface anomalies with what researchers described as regular edges and apparent right-angle intersections, though the origin of those features remains uncertain. Atila told Turkey's IHA news agency that radar revealed voids that "could potentially be corridors or rooms".turkiyetoday+1

Skepticism and What Comes Next

The findings remain preliminary, and no independent confirmation has been published. In a 1996 study, geologist Lorence Collins and explorer David Fasold concluded the Durupınar Formation was "a completely natural rock formation," identifying it as an eroded fold in sedimentary rock. Most geologists continue to hold that view.newsweek

The expedition's marketing director, Lauren Witzke — a former U.S. Senate candidate and self-described flat-earther — has made sweeping claims on social media, writing that "Darwinism will be dismantled" when the work is complete. But the academic researchers on the project have been more measured. Atila said lab results expected over the winter would be decisive: "If Noah's Ark really exists, we can say that the place is the Durupınar Formation".news+1

Laboratory analysis of soil and core samples is expected through winter 2026–2027, with a detailed report and further fieldwork planned for next year.gadgetreview+1