EXCLUSIVE: Noah’s Ark research team says: “They will have to rewrite the textbooks”
Researchers investigating a boat-shaped rock formation in eastern Turkey, believed to be the remains of Noah’s Ark, have drilled deep into the structure and taken more than 400 samples, which are now being analysed in the laboratory.
The project is being carried out by the group Noah’s Ark Scans, which states that this is the first drilling campaign conducted with official authorization and under the supervision of Turkish universities. The drilling aims to determine whether the anomalies detected in previous ground-penetrating radar and geophysical surveys can be explained by natural causes or whether they represent traces of an artificial structure.
In an interview with LifeSiteNews, team member Lauren Witzke talks about the drilling campaign, the evidence the researchers claim to have found, and the objections of the project’s critics.
LifeSiteNews: Dear Ms. Witzke, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us. First of all: What is your role in the research team?
Lauren Witzke: My job is fundraising and marketing. Last November, in 2025, God laid Noah’s Ark on my heart. I don’t know why, and I can’t explain it. I usually worked in politics and the media. But it was something I simply had to do.
I began searching and reading, and God led me to Noah’s Ark Scans. I emailed Andrew Jones, the founder, and told him I felt God wanted me to help him. A few months later, we received permission from Turkish officials to examine Noah’s Ark. A small team of American Christians received the permit, and not a single Turkish official objected. This was entirely God’s work. All of this was God’s work.
My task now is to help find funding for the research. I also handle the marketing and help create virtual communication content to share the evidence for Noah’s Ark with the world. I truly believe that God preserved the ark all these years because He knew this generation would need it.
LSN: As early as 1949, aerial photographs taken by American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over the northwest slope of Mount Ararat at an altitude between 4,700 and 4,850 meters captured a straight formation, partially covered in ice, which became known as the Ararat Anomaly. Later satellite images, such as those from the Ikonos satellite in 2003, showed a dark shape whose dimensions were consistent with the Ark. However, the site currently being investigated by the archaeological team lies approximately 30 km south of Ararat. Has the Ararat Anomaly been definitively ruled out?
L.W.: When I embarked on this journey, I read about the Ararat anomaly. It’s located on Mount Ararat, which immediately rules it out as a possible location for Noah’s Ark, because Ararat is a stratovolcano that formed after the Flood: it emerged after the flood, which is why Noah’s Ark couldn’t possibly have landed there. Genesis states that Noah landed in the mountains of Ararat – plural, not on a single mountain. The mountains of Ararat were actually an ancient kingdom called Urartu. Noah’s Ark landed exactly where Genesis describes it. The Ararat anomaly is simply a rock anomaly.
LSN: The Ararat research team announced that it has drilled nearly 60 feet deep into the structure. The researchers reported finding organic layers that could be decomposed wood. What exactly is going on there?
L.W.: Well, consider that the top level of the Ark is heavily weathered. The mudflow you see in the photos, covering it, is the only element holding the exposed edges and the top level together. Below the surface, however, the two levels are still largely intact.
Earlier this summer, we brought with us U.S. defence scientist Dr. Khrosrow Bakthar. He is one of the country’s leading experts in rock mechanics and the inventor of BaktharRadar. Dr. Bakthar is the man the U.S. Department of Defense calls when it comes to finding underground bombs or locating and identifying Mexican cartel tunnels leading into the United States. He has led more than 35 major projects for the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and NORAD-USNORTHCOM. His invention, BaktharRadar, renders all subsurface geological structures completely invisible and is extremely useful.
We had him deploy BaktharRadar on site, and I’ll never forget the night he called me with preliminary results. “Lauren, I’ve found layers……. ordered chambers……. corridors……. this is NOT geological!” The man, who is normally unemotional and serious, sounded almost as if he had just discovered extraterrestrial life. Dr. Bakthar sent us the coordinates and told us where to take core samples. We drilled and extracted samples exactly where we were supposed to. These cores, along with samples taken from the perimeter, are currently being analysed at Sivas Cumhuriyet University and in independent laboratories. We are also raising funds to have the cores tested for ancient animal DNA.
So now we know that in the mountains of Ararat we have a massive, 515-foot-long, boat-shaped, man-made structure. It is not of geological origin, meaning it was created by humans. It is not a village, because it is a single, cohesive, enormous object. But how do we prove that it is Noah’s Ark? You have to prove that the animals were there.
That’s why it’s so important to examine the drill cores for ancient animal DNA. Hopefully, we can also determine what was originally meant by the “two of each species.” So, we’re currently in the phase where the samples are being analysed. Dr. Bakthar has completed about 70 percent of his final report; it’s scheduled for publication in November.
LSN: The project founder’s apartment was ransacked and his laptop stolen. What occurred? Are there any clues to date about the perpetrators or their motives? Could the crime be related to the research, or was it an unrelated incident?
L.W.: The act was clearly connected to the research. Andrew had just given a series of media interviews, and after that, the visits and threats began. He heard someone shouting, “We’re going to kill you” and “You have to get out of here,” and banging on his doors between 1 and 3 a.m. We advised him to stay at his friend’s house, which he thankfully did. The friend returned to the apartment to get some stuff for Andrew and immediately FaceTimed him when he saw the front door. The padlock had been broken. Had Andrew decided to stay there for just one more night, he would likely be dead.
The burglar stole laptops, memory cards, a computer motherboard, and anything else that might contain data or storage space. He left other valuables behind, such as a nice new microphone, a monitor, and the printer. He only took electronic devices that could store data. He was after evidence for the Ark. Luckily, Andrew keeps multiple copies of everything, so no data was lost. The security cameras were out of order that night. We’ll probably never find out who did it, but we know the perpetrators spoke English and that it was a targeted attack.
LSN: Critics cite many reasons to doubt the team’s success. First, the samples obtained through drilling still need to be analysed in the lab, and US defence technology has not yet been validated in the field of archaeology. How do you respond to these objections?
L.W.: Never before in the history of archaeology has a study been subjected to such critical scrutiny and attack. Even the leading Turkish archaeology professor and project leader, Dr. Cenker Atila, told me he couldn’t understand why he was being personally attacked. Since we began investigating Noah’s Ark, he had never experienced anything comparable in his entire career.
If we had investigated the Titanic or the wreck of the USS Yankee, all our methods would be considered comprehensive. Only because we are investigating Noah’s Ark are we subjected to such slanderous criticism. The consequences of the discovery of Noah’s Ark terrify atheists and evolutionists alike.
The evidence for Noah’s Ark and the global catastrophic flood is proof that evolution and Darwinism are lies. It proves that we cannot evolve beyond our own species and that we did not descend from apes, but that every living being on this earth can trace its lineage back to the survivors of the Ark. It proves that we did not evolve from apes over millions of years, but are descendants of the eight human being survivors who left the Ark less than 5,000 years ago. They will have to rewrite school textbooks and biology books, and that is why we are under such close scrutiny and are being attacked.
This is the place where creation began anew, and some will never accept the truth, even if we would the inscription “Noah was here” on the walls (this is a joke!). These are not people to be taken seriously, and these are not critiques to be taken seriously. They are critiques offered out of desperation to transform the narrative and are meant to sow confusion and doubt.
Andrew Jones, our founder, has always known this was the resting place of Noah’s Ark. That’s why he’s subjecting it to the most rigorous testing available. He knows the Ark will withstand every test – and it hasn’t failed a single one so far. BaktharRadar is the most advanced technology ever used in the site’s history. If there were a geological anomaly there, we would know about it. Instead, Dr. Bakthar said his findings were “extraordinary,” “orderly,” and “non-geological.” As for the lab samples: Of course, we have to send samples to the lab for analysis. That’s neither unusual nor different from any other study. All the evidence to date supports the claim that this is Noah’s Ark.
LSN: Critics argue that the right angles detected in the scans, which some believe prove the existence of artificially created chambers, could actually have formed naturally through rock fractures. What is your response?
L.W.: The design God gave Noah for the ark is extraordinary. A huge passageway runs right through the centre, and every passageway and corridor leads back to this central passageway. The structure is orderly, complex, and composed of perfect right angles. According to Dr. Bakthar, the passageways are about 4 meters high. This also aligns with the GPR scans conducted in 2014, which showed that the door to the ark was exactly the same height. Everything fits together. They needed high doors and passageways because some of the animals were large. Anyone claiming this was caused by rock fractures or a natural event is either pursuing to accept it or is lying. No genuine expert can review the preliminary results of our scans (which we haven’t even fully published yet) and claim it’s a natural formation. Anyone who says so is either lying or intending to mislead and confuse you.
LSN: As early as 1996, a study by geologist Lorence Collins and explorer David Fasold refuted the idea that the rock formation on Mount Ararat was the real Noah’s Ark. According to this interpretation, it is merely a natural structure formed over time by landslides, erosion, and mud rising to the surface. The ship-like shape is attributed to a common geological phenomenon: the rock layers folded, and erosion wore them down until they resembled the outline of a ship. Many geologists still subscribe to this interpretation. Furthermore, when the structure was blasted with dynamite in 1960, only earth and rock were reportedly found. How do you respond to this objection from geologists?
L.W.: Nobody will speak about it as openly and give you such an honest answer about Fasold as I am about to do. But I will, because unlike Andrew Jones, I was never friends with Fasold, didn’t know him personally, and have no real reason to protect his legacy.
Fasold was initially a staunch advocate of the view that this was the resting place of Noah’s Ark. He investigated the site and did excellent work. I believe he even wrote a book about it. For a time, Fasold was truly convinced that it was Noah’s Ark.
Then he was suddenly penniless, destitute, and bitter, and gave rock samples to a staunch evolutionist and professor named Lorence Collins. He had chipped these samples from a ribbed rock located 24 km from the Durupinar Formation. I repeat: He gave Collins a ROCK SAMPLE from a ROCK located 24 km AWAY from the Ark’s discovery site. Fasold also collected blocks of rock from the surrounding area and from the Formation and gave them to Collins for examination. Fasold gave Collins rock samples, and these samples were tested and, unsurprisingly, came back as rock.
He gave Collins no core samples, no soil samples, only rock samples. In doing so, he provided the evolutionary professor with exactly what he needed to write the headline that is still used as a weapon against us today.
The headline “Fake ‘Noah’s Ark’ from Turkey exposed as ordinary geological structure” alongside the name of the man who had studied the ark for years would cause immeasurable damage, and the other side knew it. They needed that headline, and only Fasold, Collins, and God know the price paid for it.
However, what you will also not read in this paper is that in the weeks before his death from an incurable illness, Fasold made a confession and told his family members and several witnesses that there was definitely something at the Durupinar Formation and that the investigations had to continue.
Regarding the dynamite: The uppermost level of the Ark is heavily weathered, and its edges are held together by several feet of hardened, encrusted mudflow. The top deck of the Ark is buried several meters deep in this hardened mudflow and clay. Below the mudflow, what remains of the uppermost exposed level is essentially abundant organic material that looks almost like compost. It is rotten and decaying wood that is over 4,300 years old. It is to be expected that after using dynamite on the formation, little else besides this material would be found; that is hardly a conclusive investigation. I am not even sure they penetrated the several meters of mudflow. This is precisely why we have gone much deeper, and why it is so important to investigate what lies below the surface and to reach the two lowest levels that are still intact. This is why the 2026 investigation is so much more important than all the others. No other investigation has reached the numerous locations and depths that we have. No other investigation has employed the advanced technology we have, and no other investigation has been monitored as comprehensively as ours. Therefore, only this investigation matters.
L.W.: According to critics, microscopic analyses have shown that the iron allegedly discovered at the site was not a man-made metal, but a simple natural mixture of clay and minerals. Furthermore, excavations have never unearthed any traces of wood or organic material, confirming that even the anchor stone is merely ordinary local volcanic rock. Aerial photographs definitively refute the artificial origin of the site by showing that the surrounding rock formations have the exact same shape created by the normal erosion process in the area. In their view, there is therefore currently no evidence that Noah’s Ark is located there. The organic material found could be man-made wood or, more simply, the ordinary accumulation of material on an Anatolian hillside. How do you respond to these objections?
L.W.: Noah’s Ark scans and our 2026 study never claimed to have found iron, and as I said before, this is the only study that matters. Regarding previous claims and studies: We were unable to properly verify or analyse the data ourselves and therefore cannot confirm any previous claims or findings other than our own.
As for the drifting or anchor stones, 26 of them were found around the site of the Ark. Drifting stones were used to balance ancient ships in stormy seas. Since Noah’s Ark had neither a rudder nor a sail, its crew would have attached the drifting stones to the sides of the vessel to balance it and prevent it from capsizing. They weren’t trying to survive a light drizzle, but a global cataclysmic event, a cataclysmic event in which God opened the floodgates of the deep. We’re talking about volcanic activity, tidal waves, hurricanes, and tsunamis. The ship would have capsized if it hadn’t been built to withstand such a catastrophic event, and the drifting stones are an essential part of that.
When the ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat, the crew would have cut the long ropes securing the stones to prevent them from drifting. All of these stones lie at a distance from the ark corresponding to the length of the long ropes that attached them. When they encountered shallower water in the mountains of Ararat, they would have cut the ropes, leaving the drifting stones where they remain today. Many of the stones were later used as gravestones, but they still bear the holes at the top through which the ropes would have been threaded. These 26 drifting stones with rope holes are not the result of volcanic rock activity. They were worked and crafted by hand.
And yes, about 20 km away you can find boat-shaped formations created by lava flows. In aerial photographs, they look exactly the same, but they aren’t. The Durupinar Formation is oriented incorrectly to have been formed by lava or mudflow. Its peak points uphill, whereas if it had formed naturally against the bedrock, it would point in the opposite direction, downhill. And yes, there are many formations and bedrock features there covered by mudflow. But the Durupinar Formation is the only one whose dimensions exactly match the measurements in Genesis (515 feet long, 85 feet wide), namely precisely 300 Egyptian cubits by 50 Egyptian cubits. The edges of the ark are exposed, and it looks more like a ship than any of the others – at least visually. What lies beneath the surface is far more fascinating.
Many people speculate and draw conclusions about what was found at the Ark site before the samples even arrive at the lab. The site was never excavated, and the last attempts at core drilling in the 1980s failed because the water used to cool the drill bit washed away all the data. This year, we drilled dry and collected over 400 samples. We took samples from the edges of the Ark, deep inside, and from the top level. Once the results are available and confirmed by experts, we will share them with the world.
What we have discovered is very exciting and will frighten many evolutionists. It is all real. The Ark is real, the worldwide flood occurred, and God, who orchestrated all of this, is very real as well.
LSN: What developments will there be in the coming months and years?
L.W.: First, Dr. Bakthar will complete his final report in the next few weeks. After that, the results of the soil and core samples from the laboratory will follow. Dr. Cenker will also hold a press conference in the coming weeks and make an important announcement about a very exciting discovery. I can’t say more at the moment.
God willing, next year we will begin excavating the Ark under the direction of Dr. Cenker Atila, with Turkish official permits and under their supervision.
yogaesoteric
November 1, 2026