DOĞUBAYAZIT, Türkiye, Sept. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mountains of Ararat — An international team of American researchers, scientists, geologists, and archaeologists from Noah’s Ark Scans, in partnership with Turkish universities, has begun collecting core samples from the Durupınar Formation at depths of up to 18 meters and is preparing to send the Gopher drone into mapped voids, organized tunnels, and corridors inside the hull of what many believe to be Noah’s Ark.
Noah’s Ark Scans today announced that core drilling has begun at the Durupınar formation near Mount Ararat under the largest international permitted scientific expedition in the site’s recorded history.
Core-Drilling Begins at the Boat-Shaped Durupinar Noah’s Ark Site
The 2026 field program is led by Turkish Professor of Archaeology Prof. Dr. Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University and supported by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şengönül, Rector of Sivas Cumhuriyet University with Noah’s Ark Scan’s Andrew Jones serving as Vice President of the Noah’s Ark Research Project. This Scientific Expedition is being conducted with official authorization from relevant Turkish government agencies. The Durupınar formation is a 157-meter (515-foot) boat-shaped feature first identified in 1959 by Turkish Army Capt. İlhan Durupınar.
For more than six decades, researchers have debated whether the outline is a natural landform or the buried remains of a large wooden vessel.
Until now, work at the site has been limited largely to surface observation, photography, and geophysical scanning. A 1988 drilling attempt reached only a few holes and a fraction of the depth now being sampled. The 1988 core samples were ultimately corrupted with water used to cool the core drilling bit.
The 2026 expedition is the first program authorized to carry out a non-destructive, permitted scientific investigation that includes deep core recovery inside and outside the formation. The project’s immediate goals are twofold.
First, the team is collecting continuous cores for laboratory analysis this winter, including compositional, organic, and stratigraphic testing. Second, researchers plan to insert the custom-built GOPHER underground exploration drone into voids, tunnels, and corridors previously mapped by ground-penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography, and related surveys. GOPHER, named for the “gopher wood” of Genesis, is equipped with a high-resolution camera, designed to enter narrow borehole access points without opening large excavation trenches.
Prof. Dr. Atila, President of the research project and a faculty member in the Department of Archaeology at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, is directing the Turkish scientific program. Andrew Jones, Vice President of the Noah’s Ark Research Project and founder of Noah’s Ark Scans, is leading the international field collaboration.
The 2026 season has brought together archaeologists, geologists, soil scientists, and technical specialists from multiple countries under a single permitted research plan.
“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. We have so far 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.
“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.” -Andrew Jones, Vice President, Noah’s Ark Research Project
Broken core-drill bit after hitting a layer “harder than limestone” beneath the Durupinar Site
Percussion core drilling is a method used to penetrate limestone and many rock types, and the dry drilling system used in this investigation operates without drilling fluids and uses mechanical impact and drilling force to advance through resistant subsurface materials like limestone. Depending on the equipment and bit configuration, percussion drilling systems are capable of penetrating both unconsolidated material and competent rock. Typical petrified wood is substantially harder than limestone, and harder than most types of bedrock.
“Whatever the core drill struck was harder than limestone — hard enough to break the bit,” Andrew Jones continued.
A quartz cast of wood found by a tourist at the Durupinar Site.
“This is a major breakthrough in our ability to investigate what lies beneath this remarkable site. We are now collecting physical samples for laboratory analysis, with more fieldwork planned next year. This first season by our international team has opened an entirely new chapter in the Noah’s Ark investigation,” Jones continued.
The drilling campaign follows months of baseline work at the site, including precision GPS mapping, three-dimensional digital modeling, soil sampling inside and outside the outline, and high-resolution subsurface imaging. Earlier scans identified linear features, right-angle intersections, layered anomalies, and elongated voids interpreted by the team as possible corridors and chamber-like spaces. U.S. Defense Scientist Dr. Khrosrow Bakthar, recently deployed BaktharRadar at the site and provided the core drilling coordinates to the Noah’s Ark 2026 expedition team. Dr. Bakthar’s preliminary report found no bedrock at the site, more details of the prestigious scientist’s report are expected to be released by Noah’s Ark Scans later this week.
“I believe this is Noah’s Ark, that’s why I’m putting the Durupinar site through the most rigorous testing possible.” -Andrew Jones, Noah’s Ark Scans Founder.
Core holes were placed both within the boat-shaped outline and in control locations beyond it so that laboratory results can be compared against the surrounding mountainside. According to the expedition, cores recovered to date include sequences of soil and sediment, intervals of organic-rich material, and cavities. One cavity continued to collect and fill up with water as the team drilled, the water kept retaining within that same cavity or “room”.
Genesis 6:14 (ESV): “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.”
Noah’s Ark Scan’s Founder Andrew Jones collects and refrigerates core samples to send to a third-party lab and universities for testing.
Researchers report that none of the holes drilled inside the formation encountered a continuous bedrock or solid limestone block of the kind often cited as proof that Durupınar is only a natural rock shape. Those observations will be tested in the laboratory. The team emphasizes that the analyses expected this winter include organic-content measurements, mineralogy, microscopy, and further tests selected after initial screening.
Prof. Dr. Atila has indicated that radar processing and soil results will inform a public scientific statement after laboratory work is complete, with additional seasons planned for 2027 and beyond.
“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.” -Dr. Cenker Atilia, Archeological professor and President of the Noah’s Ark 2026 Scientific Expedition
Noah’s Ark Scans said the 2026 study marks a shift from remote sensing alone to physical evidence in hand. The organization will continue to publish updates at NoahsArkScans.com as laboratory results come in over the next few months. No other study in the history of the site has operated under official permits and with University oversight.
“For generations, explorers have studied the Durupınar site with little oversight, no chain of custody, and no shared data. Our founder, Andrew Jones, is willing to put the formation through rigorous testing and release the results for the world to examine. He believes the data show that an ancient vessel lies here. No American in his right mind would spend thirty years in the mountains of Eastern Turkey guarding a pile of rocks. He knows this is Noah’s Ark, and he is finally able to prove it.” -Lauren Witzke, Fundraiser, Noah’s Ark Scans
Noah’s Ark Scans has launched a fundraiser in partnership with GiveSendGo to raise funds for the 2026 expedition, lab testing, and for further study of the site in 2027. Tax deductible contributions can be made directly to NoahsArkScans.com/Donate
About Noah’s Ark Scans
Noah’s Ark Scans is an international research initiative investigating the Durupınar formation in eastern Türkiye through permitted geophysical survey, soil science, core drilling, and targeted interior imaging.
The project is directed in Türkiye by archaeologist, Prof. Dr. Cenker Atila, and supported by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şengönül, Rector of Sivas Cumhuriyet University with Andrew Jones serving as Vice President of the Noah’s Ark Research Project.
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Noah’s Ark Scans
Website: https://www.noahsarkscans.com
Email: info@noahsarkscans.com
Phone: +1-916-258-7092
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