Expert: John J. Shea - 5/11/2004

Question
The idea that Noah's Ark has been located in Mt. Ararat has come up in a recent conversation.  I really have no idea what to believe.  The information on the internet is vague and ambiguous.  I don't even know if there was an ark, and if it would have lasted this long in existence if there was.  Someone has claimed that there are satellite pictures of the ark in a glacier, others have claimed that they tested the lumber and found it was from a species of tree long-since extinct.  Do you know anything about this? If not, do you know where I can find factual information on this subject?
Thank You  

Answer
Alexandra
As near as I can make out from my reading, this business of a boat on Mt. Ararat is a hoax that various creationists have kept going for some time.  Some wood was recovered from high up in Ararat earlier in the century, but radiocarbon testing done more recently revealed it was medieval (no "dead" C-12, so not old enough to in keeping with the Biblical chronology).  The wood is probably remains of a medieval Christian monastary.  Satellite photos are probably fakes, one can do a lot with Photoshop these days.
Best wishes,
John Shea
Oops, Almost forgot: Good books on hoaxes and fakes in Archaeology: Look up books by Ken Feder or Brian Fagan.  Good book on actual biblical archaeology: Amihai Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible.