Archaeologist Joel Klenck exhibits Mesopotamian cylinder seals from the third millennium BC showing the location of Noah’s Ark, on a plateau beneath the summit, on the south side of greater Mount Ararat.

Istanbul, Turkey -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/16/2021 --Harvard University educated archaeologist, former maritime executive, chairperson and senior lecturer of the archaeology and cultural heritage department at the National University of Samoa, and current president of the applied archaeology firm, PRC, Inc., Joel Klenck, exhibits Mesopotamian cylinder seals from 2,300 BC showing the location of Noah's Ark on a plateau beneath the summit of greater Mount Ararat.

Klenck is certain: "The rediscovery of Noah's Ark is a fact and the greatest archaeological site in history. The Ark is more than 150 meters in length, in two general areas, within 10 larger features, exhibiting to date 13 distinct loci, at elevations between 3,900 and 4,700 meters, and accessed by tunnels 4 to 11 meters beneath the gorge's surface. The vessel's origin dates to the Late Epipaleolithic Period (13,100-9,600 BC) and earlier and represents the progenitor site for the Neolithic or farming revolution. The structure is a maritime barge with angled hulls, thousands of cages, sloping ramps, three decks, ballast features, and large cargo holds with a prehistoric diet of bitter vetch, pea, and chickpea seeds. The Ark's wood architecture, baskets, containers, and botanical remains of grape and pre-domesticated cereals were frozen or cryodesiccated causing enhanced preservation for millennia. The structure follows all traits described in the Bible, Quran, and by Berossus, Josephus, and in Alexandrian traditions.

Armenians hid Noah's Ark since 247 BC, improved concealment tactics in the 19th and early 20th centuries, using the Ark to support Armenian independence from Ottoman Turkey. When this revolution failed, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Mkrtich Khrimian (1820-1907), issued orders to conceal the Ark, a secret ensured by Stalinist purges in the 1930s, impacting Anatolian history, the Armenian diaspora, and causing a range of emotions over the Ark's public revelation in 2021."

The archaeologist notes: "This site was ignored because European and North American secular views discounted the accuracy of ancient religious accounts. Western scholars also disregarded four major traditions describing Noah's Ark on greater Mount Ararat. Moses in Genesis 8:4 describes the Ark landing on the mountains of Ararat or Urartu. Canaanite, Mesopotamian, or Hurrian accounts describe God (El), other spiritual entities, and Noah on the mountains of Ararat. The Islamic Prophet Mohammed in the Quran (Sura 11) states Noah's boat landed on the highest mountain, which is greater Mount Ararat in the Near East. Also, greater Mount Ararat is portrayed as the twin mountain or 'Mashu' in Mesopotamian and Hurrian accounts. From this twin mountain tradition, two Akkadian cylinder seals reveal the Ark's location.

The black Serpentinite seal from southern Iraq, created during the Akkadian period, dates to around 2,300 BC. The seal shows Shamash standing between the Mashu or twin mountains of Ararat holding a 'shasharu' or pruning knife of judgment. Above greater Mount Ararat, shown with a higher elevation, is the symbol of Noah's Ark with three decks following Genesis 6:16. Also portrayed is a spade, the method to access the Ark, by digging under the ground to enter the vessel. The twin mountains are between a portal where mortals are able to meet and converse with deities similar to Noah's communications in the Bible, in Genesis 6-9, and Quran, in Surah 11. Lastly, a plateau-like feature on the seal was made with a sharp horizontal incision beneath the southern summit of greater Mount Ararat.

The greenstone Adda Seal from Sippar, likely formed during the reign of Sargon of Akkad (2,334-2,279 BC), also shows the twin mountains from the southern perspective of Mesopotamia, with greater Mount Ararat to the west. Here, the Zu bird is flying toward greater Mount Ararat holding a branch in its beak, similar to the dove in Genesis 8:11. Ishtar is standing on greater Mount Ararat with Shamash holding the pruning knife of judgement, staring at a point beneath the summit on the south side of the Mountain, surrounded by other Akkadian deities.

These cylinder seals accurately show Noah's Ark on the south side of greater Mount Ararat, on a plateau beneath the summit, and accessible by digging from the surface into the Ark.

These seals also reveal how Akkadians, during the 3rd millennium BC, portrayed human faces with an emphasis on the eyes, a pronounced nose, and indistinct face. A similar depiction is exhibited in Artifact 13 made from pumice, a light and porous volcanic rock, retrieved near a reliquary from Noah's Ark. Here, eye notches form the pronounced nose of the specimen, which lacks other facial features, similar to Akkadian artistry for their deities around 2,300 BC.

Klenck concludes, "Noah's Ark represents the beginning of the post-secular age, a stunning Rosetta Stone between the faiths of three world religious: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and positivist science. Still, this magnificent ancient vessel is subject to continual looting and widespread decomposition. The Republic of Turkey and world community must accelerate the protection and conservation of this religious and cultural masterpiece."

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