Drilling Begins at Durupınar, the 157-Metre ‘Noah’s Ark’ Formation Near Mount Ararat

Could the answer to a decades-old mystery finally be underground?

Drilling has begun at one of the most disputed sites on Earth.

Researchers are now physically extracting material from the boat-shaped Durupınar formation near Mount Ararat in eastern Türkiye. For decades, the 157-metre feature has been linked to claims surrounding Noah’s Ark. Those claims have never been proven, and geologists have repeatedly argued the formation can be explained by natural processes.

So why drill now?

Because surface analysis has reached its limit. A government-approved 2026 project has moved into direct subsurface investigation, with core drilling underway and a robotic camera planned for any cavities found beneath the site. The video below explores what the drilling has found so far, why radar signals alone couldn’t settle the debate, and how researchers plan to test what lies beneath.

UPDATE — 04 October 2026

The investigation beneath the strange Durupınar formation has now reached a critical turning point.

Researchers have completed their 2026 field season after drilling more than 60 feet beneath the formation and collecting hundreds of samples for laboratory analysis.

And what they encountered underground has raised new questions.

Instead of solid bedrock, the team reportedly found rich, dark soil underground. Researchers are now testing it for possible wood, organic matter and other clues about what lies beneath the formation.

The team also collected roughly 1,000 soil samples from around 150 different locations during the 2026 investigation. Those samples are now moving into the laboratory phase, where researchers hope to determine their composition and age.

Another intriguing discovery has also entered the investigation.

Researchers reported finding pottery fragments near the formation that may date to an ancient period. However, they found the fragments around the site rather than inside a confirmed buried vessel, meaning they cannot yet connect them directly to Noah’s Ark. Their age and significance still need to be established through laboratory analysis.

The next stage could therefore be more important than the drilling itself.

Scientists are now examining the cores and soil for organic material and possible traces of wood. Carbon testing is expected to help determine whether any organic remains are genuinely ancient and whether they could be connected to human activity at the site.

Prof. Cenker Atila has warned that claims the Ark has already been “100% proven” are premature. He says the team has obtained remarkable data, but the laboratory work is still underway.

That leaves the mystery hanging on evidence that cannot simply be interpreted from a radar screen.

If the laboratory results reveal unusual organic material, ancient wood or evidence of human construction, the Durupınar debate could enter an entirely new phase. If the samples instead match the surrounding geological environment, the natural-formation explanation could gain much stronger support.

For now, the fieldwork is finished.

The evidence is finally being tested in laboratories — and the results expected over the coming months could determine what this strange formation really is.

UPDATE — 01 October 2026

New radar scans of the boat-shaped Durupınar Formation in Turkey’s Ağrı Province indicate that the underground mound contains a large, man-made structure rather than natural rock.

Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, an engineer who spent decades building detection systems for US defence agencies, used his proprietary BakhtarRadar system to scan beneath the site, pointing to organized internal features such as corridors, chambers, and repeating angles.

Bakhtar stated that the anomaly, which he described as either a ship or a spacecraft, produced a signature a solid geological mass could not create.

Core drilling began in late September 2026 under a Turkish university-led program, with initial samples retrieved from a hard layer 12 to 15 feet below the surface.

The research team is currently testing these organic-rich samples for decayed wood and expects the full radar survey to be completed by November 2026.

Andrew Jones, founder of Noah’s Ark Scans, noted that the next major phase of the investigation will involve testing for ancient animal DNA inside the mapped voids to confirm whether the structure is the biblical vessel.

UPDATE — 28 September 2026

A disturbing new development has emerged around the Durupınar investigation after Noah’s Ark Scans reported a burglary at founder Andrew Jones’ apartment. Computers, laptops and memory cards reportedly connected to the research were taken.

According to Lauren Witzke, the project’s Director of Marketing and Fundraising, Jones had temporarily left the apartment after alleged late-night disturbances and threats. She says someone entered the property while he was away, while other equipment and valuables remained untouched.

That unusual selection of items has led the team to suspect that the burglary may have targeted its research. However, no independent evidence identifies those responsible or connects the break-in to the Durupınar investigation.

Witzke also alleged that people had banged on Jones’ door, shouted threats and attempted to gain entry. The project has reported those claims, but no independent source has confirmed them.

The team says building security cameras could not provide footage from the time of the incident. No public police statement currently links the burglary to the research.

Fortunately, the team says its research data survived because copies were stored separately.

Meanwhile, the investigation has entered a major new phase. Researchers have begun drilling into the 157-metre formation, while an underground robot has entered newly created access points beneath the surface.

Drilling reportedly reached roughly four to five metres before an exceptionally resistant layer damaged a drill bit. Researchers have suggested possible mineralised or petrified wood as one explanation, but laboratory testing must determine what the material contains.

The team is also preparing large numbers of soil and core samples for laboratory analysis. The research has not established that Durupınar is Noah’s Ark, but physical material from beneath the formation could provide evidence beyond scans and surface observations.

For now, the burglary remains unresolved as researchers continue their investigation. The next laboratory results could reveal much more about what lies beneath the strange boat-shaped formation.

What Did Researchers Just Find Near Mount Ararat?

What changed after nearly seventy years of speculation?

The project is led by Professor Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University, with scientists and students from several countries. Earlier stages included GPS mapping, 3D modelling, ground-penetrating radar and electrical surveys.

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Durupınar sits in Ağrı Province near Doğubayazıt, roughly 29 kilometres south of Greater Ararat’s summit. Its curved, pointed outline has long been compared to a ship’s hull. The measurements — around 157 metres — have kept the Ark theory alive, since they echo descriptions in Genesis. Matching numbers alone, though, prove nothing.

Interest began in 1959, when Turkish Army Captain İlhan Durupınar spotted the shape in aerial photographs. Investigators arrived the following year. They found no confirmed structure.

The theory persisted anyway. Explorers in the 1970s and 80s reported iron-rich material and large stones some called anchor stones. Geologists disagreed, pointing to natural mineral concentrations instead.

The Radar Anomaly Everyone’s Talking About

Regular edges. Intersecting patterns. Possible empty spaces.

That’s what recent ground-penetrating radar has detected beneath parts of the formation. It sounds significant. But radar doesn’t photograph what’s underground — it measures changes in material density. A strong signal could mean a rock boundary. A fracture. A mineral deposit. Or a cavity.

It could mean almost anything.

This is where drilling changes the equation. Instead of interpreting reflected waves, scientists can now pull a physical core from a known depth and examine exactly what’s there — sediment, limestone, volcanic material, organic content, signs of disturbance.

Geologist Lorence Collins, working with former Ark supporter David Fasold, previously concluded the site was natural, formed by folded sedimentary rock. A 2007 study proposed something similar: a limestone block that slid downslope, later shaped by erosion and melting ice.

The drilling will test both explanations directly.

If the cores show continuous natural rock matching the surrounding terrain, that supports geology. If they don’t — if researchers find coherent structural remains or worked materials — that would demand far more investigation.

Could This Robot Camera Finally Prove It’s Real?

This is the part everyone’s waiting for.

If drilling reaches a large enough opening, a small robotic camera is expected to go in. For the first time, researchers could see — not infer — what’s beneath Durupınar. A cavity might turn out to be nothing more than an erosion fracture.

Or it might not.

Previous studies also noted soil chemistry differences between material inside the formation and samples taken outside it. Interesting, but not proof of a vessel.

Final Verdict

No wooden ship has been confirmed at Durupınar. Not yet.

What’s changed is the method. Physical samples, known depths, lab analysis and — potentially — direct footage from underground can be tested and challenged in ways aerial photos and radar readings never could. The wider programme will continue past this drilling phase, and any unusual material will need independent verification before anyone can call it evidence.

Nearly seventy years after a captain first noticed a strange shape from the air, the answer is finally being sought from the ground itself. Whether Durupınar turns out to be an extraordinary rock formation or something that rewrites the story, one thing is certain: the truth was never going to come from the sky.

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