Noah's Ark Quest on Ice

Wednesday September 29, 2004

Earlier this year I wrote about a expedition being planned to search for Noah's Ark. Well, the plans have been put on ice for now - and it's possible that the organizer never really intended to go in the first place.

National Geographic explains:

The announcement received generous news coverage. But the U.S. $900,000 expedition quickly hit a snag: The Turkish government refused to grant the explorers permission to climb the mountain. Soon, the mission itself was put on ice. But how credible was the expedition in the first place?

McGivern may have been more interested in generating publicity than mounting a serious search, critics now suggest. By making an early announcement, he may have tried to persuade the Turkish government into granting him a permit. Few expeditions have actually obtained clearance to climb Mount Ararat, which is located in a military zone.

"These expeditions are a waste of time, energy, and money—all of which could be put to much better use by supporting existing scholarly excavations around the world," said Eric Cline, a historian and archaeologist at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. ... Cline, the George Washington University historian and archaeologist, calls the Noah's ark expeditions "fringe archaeology." "Speaking strictly for myself," he said, "I am happy to stay out of such an area of debatable research."

I guess I'm not surprised that the expedition never got off the ground. We in the Evil Atheist Conspiracy haven't yet finished moving all of the Ark's remains off the of the mountain so that they can be buried in various members' basements. I myself have several pieces hidden behind the water heater and it will take a few more years for the rest to be removed. Until then, our agents in the Turkish government will keep explorers away. It's good to have friends in high places!

Note: the above is satire. It isn't an argument. I realize that it might seem strange that I have to insert a disclaimer for satire, but when I've held up things for ridicule before, not everyone has gotten it.

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