Ark Research Project:
Search for Noah's Ark

Ark Research Project Newsletter - August/September 1998

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INTRODUCTION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noah's Ark, made of gopher wood, rotted to pulp fifty years after it landed on "the mountains of Ararat"! Or did it? Why would anyone look for Noah's Ark after so many years?! Isn't it rotten or disintegrated by now?! Look at the forest floor, fallen trees are decimated in ten not 4,500 years!

This is a thought many have when one considers the exploration for such an old, "wooden" vessel. This line of thinking is 100% correct when you consider such an wooden object exposed to rain, wind, bugs and the sun for 100 or more years. However, you need to think just a tad and consider this book review of Frozen Man by David Getz from Kirkus:

"From Kirkus Reviews , November 15, 1994 The ``Iceman'' was found in 1991 in the Italian Alps on the border between Austria and Italy. When two mountain climbers came upon the body, they suspected that it was a dead--perhaps murdered--mountaineer. They contacted the authorities, who nearly destroyed the body removing it from the ice. Luckily, more informed people arrived and realized that this was no ordinary accident victim. They suspected the body was extremely old. Little did they dream that the Iceman was actually over 5,000 years old--the oldest, best- preserved human body ever discovered. Through studying the body, scientists have learned much about the late Stone Age. Not only was the Iceman himself recovered, but also his tools, clothing, food, and gear. A find like this is a bonanza for archaeologists. Because of the circumstances of the Iceman's death--the time of year, the protected location, etc.--scientists now have a record of how our ancestors used to hunt, dress, prevent disease, and more. Getz (Almost Famous, 1992, etc.) explains the incredible story of the Iceman clearly and concisely, simply enough for a child to understand but in enough depth to satisfy a curious lay adult. (../arp/index; glossary; bibliography) (Nonfiction. 7-9) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. "

As the title of the book suggests, "Frozen Man" was preserved in the glacial Alpine environment for 5,000 years. Likewise, Noah's Ark appears to have met a similar fate.

Additionally, as reported by Storey, J.M., and K.B. Storey. (1990) Frozen and alive. Scientific American (Dec): 92-97. A frozen Mastodon was recovered by workers in Alaska with its body and flesh found to be well preserved and edible!!

Here is an interesting email from George Laurito in Alaska at http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/GIQR/camqua7.html,

"Years ago I knew an old Russian immigrant to Alaska (he claimed to have gone to school with Karenski). He said he helped build the Trans-Siberian railroad in his youth. In addition to the horrible working conditions, they were hardly ever given adequate food. They were overjoyed when they found a frozen mastodon in a cut as they could often salvage part of it for food (he said). When I asked if it tasted funny after all those years he said no, it tasted just like horse."

It is well known that glacial conditions can preserve just about anything and many believe that this same process has occurred with Noah's Ark.

As reported by Charles Berlitz in his book, The Lost Ship of Noah, in his youth, George Hagopian and his uncle climbed and explored the Ark in 1908. George's uncle "shot into the side of it but bullets bounced off as if it were made of stone." Many believe that the Ark is petrified.

Next time you peer into your freezer, smile. You now understand something others don't!!

Here are some Web resources to help your study:

http://www.ktca.org/newtons/10/cryogenics.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ YOUR THOUGHTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words of encouragement, shared interest and enthusiasm are great ways to share your thoughts with us. However, due to the volume of email, it is nearly impossible to "personally" respond to all letters. If you would like a response from your email, please let us know and we will try our best to do so accordingly. Here are a few letters straight and mostly unedited from you:

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"Dear Sir,

... I was recently assigned to write a research paper for my sophomore English class. Since I go to a private Christian school, and have an interest in Creation science, I could think of no better topic to write about than the search for Noah's Ark. My next step then was to gather resources for my paper, and so I turned to the ever-present Internet. Through a search engine, I was able to locate your sight and gain a wealth of knowledge. I am wrapping the research phase of my work down, and so I thought I would send you an E-mail to say, "Thanks." I am very appreciative of the work you and others have put into the construction of web sites dealing with the search for Noah's Ark, although some information was pretty surprising. I can't believe that our government has tried to keep the pictures of the Ararat anomaly a secret. Of course, you can't blame them, seeing that most of them deny that God even exists. If they had to admit that Noah's Ark is really on a mountain in Ararat, then they would have to abandon evolution and begin questioning their beliefs. But until that day when those people have a change of heart, and Darwin's temple crumbles, may God bless your efforts and may His Spirit be with you." B 7/24/98

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"How exciting! Thank you [for the newsletter]." BA 7/24/98

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"While teaching a class on Noah and the Ark for Vacation Bible School I ran across your website in the materials from Concordia Publishing House. I have truly been intrigued by all the work and information you have made available to us. Words can share the gratitude we feel. Again thank you, and if you need a "middle-age" preacher to go with you on your quest, keep me in mind. Thanks again and may God richly bless your efforts," SEL,pastor 8/11/98

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" ... Just wanted to say "Hi" and to tell you what a wonderful thing it is in this day in age, just to see these pp. on the net and be reminded that there still exist a few good men who are willing to take the historical accounts in Genesis as an actual (among other things)place to turn to find out who were the three sons (of a righteous man) from whom came all who 'overspread' the planet..." D 8/12/98

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"I think that the US Government does know something of the Arks's existence. Politics ruin so many things these days. Wouldn't it be nice to have the means of getting to the Ark and broadcasting it all over the world." DS 8/10/98

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"I enjoyed your web site and feel it is the best regarding the ark. God has preserved under his hand and will not allow the hand of man to destroy it. I am unsure if God will allow the world to see the ark before Christ returns, as we as believers in Christ use only faith and the bible to belong in the lamb's book. I feel God will only show the ark to the world after our beloved Jesus comes back for us who truly believe. I feel the world, who has turned it'd back on God and Jesus, will only then know Christ is real and the bible was in fact written by our father God, with the ark as a testimony to the truth written in the bible. May God guide and keep you and help you obtain the information and photographs we all seek to supplement our faith. Glory to God and Jesus Christ!" RK Jr. 9/14/98

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FROM THE DIRECTOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I enjoy the opportunity as the Director of the Ark Research Project to communicate with the interested public. The response to the newsletter has been beyond our expectations. We hope that you will put us in your prayers for a successful effort to raise our financial support and ultimately discover the Ark.

The mission to find the Ark is proceeding at a rapid pace and is on schedule for a mission date of August 1999. At this point, I am not at liberty to give you all the details of what has been happening. Especially, the recent terrorism incidents further support the need to keep the details and progress of our mission unpublished. We will reveal in the near future what the Lord has done for our project.

I would like to focus on what is the purpose of the mission and why we are doing it. In my TV appearance in Pittsburgh to raise funds for the ministry, I was asked the question, what makes your group different from all of the other attempts to find the Ark? I am sure the other groups felt they were doing this for the Lord.

One of the distinguishing marks that makes us different is that we are a tax-exempt organization that was organized for the sole purpose of finding the Ark. There was one other group in the sixties that was organized this way.

The second and most important aspect of what makes us different is what we plan to do with the discovery. The Lord has burdened me with the goal of producing a video documentary of the discovery. We want do a complete scientific analysis and show the world that this is the structure described in Gen. 6:14-16. The video documentary will take you through the entire structure of the Ark, the type of construction will be noted, the cages will be examined and their differing sizes noted, living quarters thoroughly explored, how ventilation was accomplished, where was waste stored, animal waste to be analyzed, what type of wood was used in the construction, how beams were put together, what exactly was makeup of the pitch, examine the construction of the door, and the skylight, etc. These are the types of examinations we hope to perform.

Once the documentary is produced, we would like to show it on national television and in large arenas and stadiums. After the viewing of the documentary a gospel message will be given as to what is the meaning of the Ark and its discovery.

The discovery will mean that we descended from Noah's family just as the scriptures have indicated. Matt. 24:34-37 will be emphasized. “As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the day when the Lord returns......” We know what it was like in the days of Noah. Our world is doing those things now that were going on in the days of Noah. Notice, the Lord said He would return. We Christians recognize this as the Rapture of the church. The Rapture is described in I Cor 15-51-55 and I Thess. 4:13-18. The Lord comes to the air and the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air, then we who are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds.

Who will go with the Lord? Only those who given their life to Christ and asked Christ to be their savior by confessing that they are a sinner. This is the new birth described in John 3:16 and Rom. 10:9.

This is the message of the discovery of the Ark. Are you ready to meet the Lord and will you be left behind? This discovery is my consuming passion that the Lord has laid on my heart. This is what makes us different from all of the other groups who have gone before.

Will you help to make this a reality? You can have a part in this by praying for the success of our mission. You can have an active part by sending a financial contribution which is tax deductible to:

                                        Ark Research Project 
                                        PO Box 4312 
                                        Lynchburg, VA 24502 

Professor James L. Hall, Director
Ark Research Project

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OTHER NEWS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CIA Declassified Photos

The CIA has responded to my [Kneisler's] FOIA requests for images of Noah's Ark. Here is an excerpt from their letter:

"With regard to the first part [request for images], in our 2 May 1997 acceptance letter, we explained that we had recently completed a request for "aerial imagery/photos" of this anomaly, and that we had located records which appeared to be responsive to that request, but had determined that they had to remain classified. About six months after we wrote this letter, the CIA declassified a large quantity of U-2 films to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Based on the films' ../arp/indexing, it was our belief that there were responsive images in those films. Because of the public interest in aerial photographs of Mt. Ararat, archivists at NARA made a special effort to determine whether any responsive photographs existed; unfortunately, they found none."

Although they claim to not have any such images, they are continuing their search for documentation about Mount Ararat and the anomaly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LAST THOUGHT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many have asked about Noah's wife's name. Her name is not mentioned in the bible.

Fictionalized accounts have made up names based upon conjecture. Such a story, "A Prayer for the Earth: The Story of Naamah, Noah's Wife", written by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, et al, portrays a woman tasked with gathering seeds for all plants before the rains come.

The name of Noah's wife as listed in the book is "Naamah" and in Hebrew means pleasing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE WEB ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most of the information presented here about Ark Research Project is available at our Web site:

http://www.arksearch.com/arp

In time, we plan to revise this address to reflect the organizational name. For now, it provides a means to allow the world to see the efforts of the team and organization.

OTHER WEB SITES

The Search For Noah's Ark by Matthew Kneisler http://www.arksearch.com

Noah's Ark Home Page by BJ Corbin http://www.noahsarksearch.com

The Noah's Ark Project by Douglas Peterson http://user.mc.net/dougp/noahs_ark/

Noah's Ark Website And Shipyard by David O'Neil http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/6039/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE PURPOSE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ark Research Project was an officially recognized United States organization in February 1998, when it received non-profit tax-exempt status from the IRS. The organizational purpose is to, "conduct research into locating the legendary Noah's Ark of the Bible. The revelation of the existence of such an archaeological and religious object would be of utmost scientific, religious, and educational value to the people of the United States and the World."

The Ark Research Project team is planing an expedition to Mount Ararat in northeastern Turkey in August 1999. Team members are listed below.

James Hall, Director (profhall@cwix.com)
James Lee, Business Manager
Mark Jenkins, Video Director
Robert Tamplet, Aeronautical Technician (btamplet@visi.net)
B.J. Corbin, Consultant & Previous Explorer (bjcorbin@beachin.net)
Robert DeVaul, Photographer
Matthew Kneisler, Technical Engineer (mkneisler@arksearch.com)
G. Wayne Bonsell, Security Consultant (gwbonsell@redrose.net)
David King, Technician Assistant (dking@tbci.org)
John Meek, Medical Physician (rmeek56@aol.com)

There are others who have contributed as periodic consultants. Their invaluable help and service are greatly appreciated. Special thanks to: John McIntosh, John Morris, Ray Anderson, and Jim Hays.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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