By: David Rice Re: More on Ark Hoaxes, 1 of 2 This is some info re the Noah's Ark TV progr

By: David Rice
Re: More on Ark Hoaxes, 1 of 2
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From: an535@yfn.ysu.edu (Mark A. McConaughy)

This is some info re the Noah's Ark TV program that was trying to
pass itself off as scientific proof of its existence. It was a
load of rubbish.

Fernand Navarra and son claimed to recover pieces of the Ark
on a trip to Ararat in the 1950's. They say experts dated the
wood to 5000 years ago. What they didn't tell you was that the
"scientists" who "dated" the wood to 5000 years ago were from
the Institute for Creation Science. They used NO scientific
method to "date" the wood, but based its age on what the wood
SHOULD date to if it was from Noah's Ark. Highly circular
reasoning!!!

In actuality, samples of the wood Navarra collected were submited
for radiocarbon dating. These dates are listed below. Additionally,
there is a question as to the origin of Navarra's wood samples. He
claims they are from Ararat. However, there is testimony that he
was seen searching shops in Turkey looking for old pieces of wood.
Most consider him and his evidence a complete fraud.

The following are some radiocarbon dates run on wood specimens
recovered at over 4,200 m elevation on Mount Ararat, alledgedly
from the ark. [A wooden Buddhist monastary was located here in
600-800 BCE.] The first item listed is the radiocarbon lab number
followed by the assayed date in years before present (calculated
from 1950 baseline), the uncorrected date in BCE/CE, and a MASCA
(to take into account variations in atmospheric 14C) corrected
date. There are others, but I haven't been able to find my other
list of dates. All postdate CE 1, though -- somewhat late to
have been from the presumed ark!

   NPL-61          1190 +/- 90 years   CE 760    CE 770-790.
   UCR-553         1210 +/- 90 years   CE 740    CE 730-760
   UCLA-1607       1230 +/- 60 years   CE 720    CE 730
   P-1620          1320 +/- 50 years   CE 630    CE 640
   GX-1667         1350 +/- 95  years  CE 600    CE 620-640
   GX-1668         1690 +/- 120 years  CE 260    CE 270

The story about the Russian photographs of the Ark also is a joke.
They state someone talked to Anastasia, the last surviving member of
Tsar Nicholas' family. She told them she has seen photos of the Ark
taken by the Russian aviator. Unfortunately, the body of Anastasia
was recently identified in Russia. She died when her father died.
Whoever they talked to after WWI wasn't Anastasia.

I'm running out of space. So I will close by saying that all those
fuzzy photos and pixels of the Ark, certainly showed shadows. I saw
no ark except for the wonderfully superimposed drawings made on the
photos. Their interpretation is highly imaginative!

Here is some information on an expedition led by Marvin Steffins of
International Expeditions in 1984 to find Noah's Ark. As Steffins
was leaving Turkey at the end of the expedition, he was stopped by
Turkish customs. The customs officials took from Steffins what he
claimed was wood from the Ark. These samples were in eight bags
weighing 8.6 pounds. Steffins claimed the samples came from the
site of a boat-shaped formation at the 5200 foot level of Mount
Ararat. Turkish officials stopped him because it is illegal to
take archaeological specimens from Turkey without permission.

The Turkish officials then sent the samples to some scientists in
Turkey for analysis. The conclusion was that the samples were not
wood. Turkish officials stated: "The samples are only rocks and
soil, not wood. And it is understood that they don't need any
protection, because they are not ancient pieces [of wood]."

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Mark A. McConaughy                  mmcconaughy@delphi.com
Section of Archaeology              an535@yfn.ysu.edu
The State Museum of Pennsylvania    m.mcconaughy on GEnie
Box 1026                            mmcconaugh on NVN
Harrisburg, PA 17109
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