Researchers have begun core drilling at the Durupınar formation in eastern Turkey, a boat-shaped mound long tied to claims about Noah’s Ark.
The site sits near Doğubayazıt in Ağrı Province, about 20 miles south of Mount Ararat. Independent researcher Andrew Jones of Noah’s Ark Scans told the Daily Mail, as reported by Newsmax, that new scans and drilling have not found limestone or solid bedrock inside the formation and that he believes it holds the buried remains of the biblical vessel. Jones also said the evidence has not definitively identified it as the ark.
A team led by Prof. Dr. Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University spent about 90 days in the field this year with researchers from five countries, Arkeonews reported. The group collected nearly 1,000 soil samples from about 150 locations, mapped the mound, and used ground-penetrating radar. Pottery fragments were also found. Their age has not been established.
Standing on the Durupınar formation, looking down at the ground beneath our feet, and knowing we finally have permission to drill into it is pretty incredible.
— Noahs Ark Scans (@noahsarkscans) September 8, 2026
For decades, people have debated what this formation actually is.
Is there bedrock beneath it?
Is it folded… pic.twitter.com/WN2u3RaBzV
Noah’s Ark Scans said in a statement distributed by GlobeNewswire that permitted deep core drilling is underway at depths of up to 18 meters and that a drill bit broke on a hard layer about 4 to 5 meters down. The group said petrified or highly mineralized wood is one possibility it wants tested in a lab. Those claims have not been independently confirmed.
The formation was identified in aerial images in 1959 by Turkish Army Capt. İlhan Durupınar. Its outline and size have drawn comparisons to the ark described in Genesis, but many geologists have long argued it is a natural landform. Living Passages, which follows the project, noted that nothing recovered in 2026 amounts to a discovery of the ark and that the university’s description of the work is more cautious than some of the project’s publicity.
Laboratory analysis of soil and core samples is expected through the winter, with fuller results aimed at 2027. Until those tests are published, the site remains an investigation, not a confirmed find.
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