1 00:00:03,542 --> 00:00:07,167 Tonight, one of the Bible's best known stories. 2 00:00:07,292 --> 00:00:08,917 A catastrophic flood wipes out 3 00:00:09,042 --> 00:00:11,000 nearly every living thing on Earth, 4 00:00:11,125 --> 00:00:15,500 except those saved by Noah and his fabled ark. 5 00:00:15,625 --> 00:00:18,875 NICOLA DENZEY LEWIS: Humankind become evil and sinful, 6 00:00:19,042 --> 00:00:22,333 and God decides to sort of hit the reset button. 7 00:00:22,417 --> 00:00:24,958 Could this tale be more than mere legend? 8 00:00:25,083 --> 00:00:28,583 And if the answer is yes, what evidence supports it? 9 00:00:28,708 --> 00:00:31,292 Research has found that a piece of the ark 10 00:00:31,417 --> 00:00:33,500 may actually have survived. 11 00:00:33,625 --> 00:00:38,083 Now, we explore the theories behind this biblical mystery. 12 00:00:38,208 --> 00:00:40,333 ROBERT CARGILL: Sir Walter Raleigh suggested 13 00:00:40,458 --> 00:00:42,333 that we should be looking for Noah's Ark 14 00:00:42,458 --> 00:00:46,333 in a massive mountain range in India. 15 00:00:46,458 --> 00:00:48,083 NICOLA: It could be that the story of Noah's Ark 16 00:00:48,208 --> 00:00:50,583 is actually based in ancient Greece. 17 00:00:50,708 --> 00:00:52,875 SAMI JARROUSH: What in the world is a boat doing 18 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,500 13,000 feet up on a mountain in Turkey? 19 00:00:55,625 --> 00:00:59,042 Was there really a great flood, and if so, 20 00:00:59,167 --> 00:01:01,458 what became of the ark? 21 00:01:01,583 --> 00:01:04,042 [music] 22 00:01:16,750 --> 00:01:21,000 Uzengili, Turkey, 1959. 23 00:01:21,167 --> 00:01:24,292 Army Captain Ilhan Durupinar 24 00:01:24,417 --> 00:01:26,875 flies an aerial reconnaissance mission for NATO. 25 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:28,167 SAMI: Captain Durupinar's there 26 00:01:28,333 --> 00:01:29,750 to take photographs from his plane 27 00:01:29,875 --> 00:01:31,167 in order to map a remote area 28 00:01:31,333 --> 00:01:33,250 in the Turkish Highlands. 29 00:01:33,375 --> 00:01:35,083 A few years prior, there had been 30 00:01:35,208 --> 00:01:38,000 three large earthquakes that altered the terrain, 31 00:01:38,125 --> 00:01:40,792 so the government wants updated images. 32 00:01:40,875 --> 00:01:43,083 LAURENCE: The flight is routine 33 00:01:43,208 --> 00:01:45,708 until he spots something strange. 34 00:01:45,875 --> 00:01:48,667 SAMI: He's flying over basically the middle of nowhere, 35 00:01:48,833 --> 00:01:51,167 when he sees a startling and unusual formation 36 00:01:51,292 --> 00:01:55,083 amongst the rocks below, which of course, he photographs. 37 00:01:55,208 --> 00:01:57,250 LAURENCE: When the film is developed, 38 00:01:57,375 --> 00:02:00,542 the captain is surprised to see what appears to be the remains 39 00:02:00,708 --> 00:02:06,500 of a large ship far inland and 6,500 feet above sea level. 40 00:02:07,875 --> 00:02:10,875 What in the world would a boat 41 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,167 be doing way up there? 42 00:02:13,333 --> 00:02:17,500 He doesn't know it yet, but he may just have stumbled 43 00:02:17,583 --> 00:02:19,958 onto the answer-- some people think-- 44 00:02:20,083 --> 00:02:21,708 of a great biblical mystery 45 00:02:21,833 --> 00:02:23,750 that has been out there for thousands of years. 46 00:02:24,708 --> 00:02:28,000 LAURENCE: The mystery of Noah's Ark. 47 00:02:28,083 --> 00:02:29,542 SAMI: The story of Noah's Ark 48 00:02:29,708 --> 00:02:32,833 is told in the biblical Book of Genesis. 49 00:02:32,917 --> 00:02:34,333 After God creates the universe 50 00:02:34,458 --> 00:02:36,167 and mankind begins with Adam and Eve, 51 00:02:36,292 --> 00:02:38,167 they go on to populate the Earth. 52 00:02:38,292 --> 00:02:40,667 Ten generations later, Noah's born. 53 00:02:40,792 --> 00:02:43,917 LAURENCE: According to Genesis, during Noah's time, 54 00:02:44,042 --> 00:02:47,500 God loses faith in humanity. 55 00:02:47,583 --> 00:02:50,583 NICOLA: Humankind become evil and sinful, 56 00:02:50,708 --> 00:02:54,500 and God sees all this and is very, very displeased by it. 57 00:02:54,625 --> 00:02:58,667 And he essentially decides to sort of hit the reset button. 58 00:02:58,792 --> 00:03:01,500 He's going to wipe out all living things 59 00:03:01,625 --> 00:03:04,125 that he has created and start afresh. 60 00:03:05,417 --> 00:03:09,917 LAURENCE: God spares Noah and his family on one condition. 61 00:03:10,042 --> 00:03:13,083 He must build an ark and stock it 62 00:03:13,208 --> 00:03:16,167 with pairs of every animal on Earth. 63 00:03:16,333 --> 00:03:18,500 SAMI: So, the ark is a giant ship. 64 00:03:18,667 --> 00:03:20,917 It's designed to survive this cataclysmic flood 65 00:03:21,042 --> 00:03:22,083 that's about to cover the Earth. 66 00:03:22,208 --> 00:03:24,917 God gives Noah extremely detailed instructions 67 00:03:25,042 --> 00:03:28,125 on how to build this ark-- how many floors it should have, 68 00:03:28,208 --> 00:03:30,500 to how many rooms, what type of wood to use, 69 00:03:30,625 --> 00:03:32,625 and even its exact dimensions, 70 00:03:32,750 --> 00:03:37,375 515 feet long, 86 feet wide, and 51 feet tall. 71 00:03:37,542 --> 00:03:39,292 ANTHONY HURST: According to the Book of Genesis, 72 00:03:39,375 --> 00:03:43,542 the flood lasted for 40 days and 40 nights. 73 00:03:43,708 --> 00:03:48,042 Eventually, as the waters receded back into the Earth, 74 00:03:48,208 --> 00:03:50,083 the ark came to rest 75 00:03:50,208 --> 00:03:53,167 on the mountains of Ararat. 76 00:03:53,292 --> 00:03:54,875 SAMI: And actually, there is a mountain today 77 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,250 called Mount Ararat, it's a huge peak in Turkey. 78 00:03:58,375 --> 00:04:00,292 And Durupinar's aerial photo 79 00:04:00,375 --> 00:04:02,208 is taken just a few miles south of there. 80 00:04:06,375 --> 00:04:07,917 LAURENCE: For centuries, religious scholars 81 00:04:08,042 --> 00:04:11,167 and historians view the story of the Great Flood 82 00:04:11,292 --> 00:04:16,250 as a metaphor, a warning that God punishes sin. 83 00:04:16,375 --> 00:04:18,583 But curiously, the flood is also mentioned 84 00:04:18,708 --> 00:04:21,750 in both the Torah and the Quran. 85 00:04:21,875 --> 00:04:27,167 Could these photos be proof that Noah's tale is, in fact, true? 86 00:04:27,333 --> 00:04:30,167 Durupinar's photos create a real kind of firestorm 87 00:04:30,292 --> 00:04:33,167 of controversy and excitement, 88 00:04:33,333 --> 00:04:36,125 especially when they're featured in a story 89 00:04:36,250 --> 00:04:38,708 that Life Magazine puts out in 1960. 90 00:04:38,875 --> 00:04:40,417 People are super excited, 91 00:04:40,542 --> 00:04:45,375 because if these photos actually show Noah's Ark, 92 00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:47,500 then they can prove that everything 93 00:04:47,583 --> 00:04:49,917 that's written in the Bible about this whole event 94 00:04:50,042 --> 00:04:51,250 is actually true, right? 95 00:04:51,375 --> 00:04:53,500 This is a historical event that actually happened. 96 00:04:54,708 --> 00:04:56,583 LAURENCE: Inspired by the article, 97 00:04:56,708 --> 00:04:58,708 a team of Americans led by Ron Wyatt 98 00:04:58,875 --> 00:05:02,000 begins researching the site in the 1970s. 99 00:05:02,083 --> 00:05:04,333 SAMI: One of the first things the team learns 100 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:06,792 when they arrive is that the locals call the mountain 101 00:05:06,917 --> 00:05:09,333 where the Durupinar site is located Mount Cudi. 102 00:05:09,500 --> 00:05:11,292 Why is this important? 103 00:05:11,375 --> 00:05:14,417 Well, the Quran also tells the story of Noah's Ark, 104 00:05:14,542 --> 00:05:17,083 and in the Quran's version, the ark comes to rest 105 00:05:17,208 --> 00:05:19,125 on a mountain called al-Gudi. 106 00:05:19,208 --> 00:05:22,083 So, they think Cudi is actually al-Gudi. 107 00:05:22,208 --> 00:05:25,000 So, the team now believes that they're able to connect the site 108 00:05:25,125 --> 00:05:26,875 back to the Quran and the Bible. 109 00:05:27,042 --> 00:05:28,667 Everything seems to be adding up. 110 00:05:28,750 --> 00:05:31,000 And so, they embark on this arduous hike 111 00:05:31,167 --> 00:05:32,458 all the way up the mountain 112 00:05:32,542 --> 00:05:34,167 convinced that they're on the right track. 113 00:05:34,333 --> 00:05:36,500 NICOLA: Near the Durupinar site, 114 00:05:36,667 --> 00:05:40,167 they actually discover several very large boulders 115 00:05:40,333 --> 00:05:42,833 with holes bored through them. 116 00:05:42,917 --> 00:05:45,583 And the marine archaeologists who are part of the team 117 00:05:45,708 --> 00:05:47,375 are very excited about this, 118 00:05:47,542 --> 00:05:49,292 because they look at them and they recognize them, 119 00:05:49,375 --> 00:05:50,417 and they say, "You know what these are? 120 00:05:50,542 --> 00:05:52,583 These are something called drogue stones." 121 00:05:53,667 --> 00:05:56,167 LAURENCE: Drogue stones are ancient anchors. 122 00:05:56,250 --> 00:05:57,875 SAMI: Archaeologists have found evidence 123 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,333 of drogue stones used as anchors in some of the oldest shipwrecks 124 00:06:01,458 --> 00:06:03,417 in Egypt and the Mediterranean. 125 00:06:03,542 --> 00:06:06,458 So, could these stones be the anchors 126 00:06:06,583 --> 00:06:08,250 used on Noah's Ark? 127 00:06:08,375 --> 00:06:10,500 LAURENCE: Next, the team examines 128 00:06:10,667 --> 00:06:12,417 the strange boat-shaped formation 129 00:06:12,542 --> 00:06:14,708 with ground-penetrating radar. 130 00:06:14,833 --> 00:06:16,750 SAMI: While they're performing the scan, 131 00:06:16,875 --> 00:06:18,333 the team is excited to note the measurements 132 00:06:18,458 --> 00:06:19,833 of this formation. 133 00:06:19,958 --> 00:06:22,375 In the Bible, the ark is 300 cubits, 134 00:06:22,500 --> 00:06:25,000 or about 515 feet long. 135 00:06:25,125 --> 00:06:28,625 This structure on the mountain is 538 feet long. 136 00:06:28,750 --> 00:06:30,250 It's almost an exact match, 137 00:06:30,375 --> 00:06:32,833 and they can't believe this coincidence. 138 00:06:32,958 --> 00:06:34,833 DUSTIN GROWICK: The scan also reveals 139 00:06:34,958 --> 00:06:38,333 what appears to be a manmade internal structure. 140 00:06:38,458 --> 00:06:40,125 The team believes this could be 141 00:06:40,250 --> 00:06:42,333 fossilized remains of chambers 142 00:06:42,458 --> 00:06:44,125 inside the ark. 143 00:06:44,250 --> 00:06:46,625 SAMI: If this is an ancient ark, 144 00:06:46,708 --> 00:06:49,333 it's unlikely that any wood could survive 145 00:06:49,458 --> 00:06:50,833 all these thousands of years. 146 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,375 So, this might be an incredible stroke of luck 147 00:06:53,542 --> 00:06:56,792 if some of the remains have been petrified or fossilized. 148 00:06:57,958 --> 00:07:01,167 NICOLA: The team drills down, they take some samples. 149 00:07:01,333 --> 00:07:03,333 When the samples are analyzed, 150 00:07:03,500 --> 00:07:06,333 they're found to be nothing other than soil 151 00:07:06,458 --> 00:07:09,667 and regular sedimental rock. 152 00:07:09,792 --> 00:07:13,542 In other words, it seems to be just a natural formation. 153 00:07:14,875 --> 00:07:16,875 LAURENCE: But that doesn't end the hunt 154 00:07:17,042 --> 00:07:18,833 for the ark in this area. 155 00:07:18,917 --> 00:07:21,333 SAMI: See, there are two things researchers can look for. 156 00:07:21,500 --> 00:07:23,167 Now, the boat itself is one of them. 157 00:07:23,333 --> 00:07:24,792 But another avenue to explore 158 00:07:24,875 --> 00:07:27,042 is looking for evidence of a giant flood. 159 00:07:27,208 --> 00:07:29,917 Large-scale natural disasters leave traces behind 160 00:07:30,042 --> 00:07:32,667 that can last thousands of years. 161 00:07:32,792 --> 00:07:34,875 And interestingly enough, research has found 162 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,167 that a massive flood may indeed have taken place, 163 00:07:38,250 --> 00:07:41,042 and it happened right near where Durupinar's photograph 164 00:07:41,208 --> 00:07:43,667 was taken in Turkey. 165 00:07:43,792 --> 00:07:47,500 In 1997, a team of geologists, geophysicists, 166 00:07:47,667 --> 00:07:50,667 and oceanographers led by a couple of Americans, 167 00:07:50,750 --> 00:07:52,750 William Ryan and Walter Pitman, 168 00:07:52,875 --> 00:07:56,375 analyze the area around the Black Sea. 169 00:07:56,500 --> 00:07:58,417 And they find evidence for what they call 170 00:07:58,542 --> 00:08:00,542 the Black Sea Deluge. 171 00:08:00,667 --> 00:08:03,500 SAMI: At the bottom of the saltwater Black Sea, 172 00:08:03,667 --> 00:08:06,542 they find remains of freshwater animals 173 00:08:06,708 --> 00:08:10,167 dating back to around 5,000 or 6,000 B.C. 174 00:08:10,250 --> 00:08:11,708 And soil samples and bedrock tests 175 00:08:11,875 --> 00:08:14,417 also prove that this once was a freshwater lake, 176 00:08:14,542 --> 00:08:16,625 and then it changed very quickly. 177 00:08:17,750 --> 00:08:20,667 NICOLA: So, the theory runs that about 8,000 years ago, 178 00:08:20,750 --> 00:08:22,667 there was a huge glacier, 179 00:08:22,792 --> 00:08:25,750 and suddenly, that glacier collapses. 180 00:08:25,875 --> 00:08:30,375 It causes this massive upsurge of the Mediterranean Sea 181 00:08:30,542 --> 00:08:32,458 that floods all the surrounding areas, 182 00:08:32,583 --> 00:08:34,875 including what's now the Black Sea. 183 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:36,833 SAMI: Every day, the equivalent 184 00:08:36,958 --> 00:08:40,417 of 200 Niagara Falls' worth of water floods in, 185 00:08:40,542 --> 00:08:44,958 and this goes on for 300 days straight-- madness. 186 00:08:45,042 --> 00:08:47,833 The existing freshwater lake that will become the Black Sea, 187 00:08:47,917 --> 00:08:50,250 it gets bigger and deeper at the rate 188 00:08:50,375 --> 00:08:52,333 of one mile a day. 189 00:08:52,458 --> 00:08:55,750 If you lived in this region, in just a matter of hours, 190 00:08:55,875 --> 00:08:58,083 your home could be at the bottom of the sea. 191 00:08:59,167 --> 00:09:01,917 LAURENCE: In 2000, marine archaeologists 192 00:09:02,042 --> 00:09:05,208 led by former Navy Officer Robert Ballard 193 00:09:05,333 --> 00:09:09,625 find evidence of a flooded ancient human settlement 194 00:09:09,750 --> 00:09:14,417 over 300 feet down on the bottom of the Black Sea. 195 00:09:14,542 --> 00:09:16,583 The flood was actually the size 196 00:09:16,708 --> 00:09:18,667 of Colorado before receding. 197 00:09:18,792 --> 00:09:22,792 It could have affected thousands upon thousands of people. 198 00:09:22,917 --> 00:09:25,333 LAURENCE: According to the study's authors, 199 00:09:25,500 --> 00:09:27,833 any survivors could possibly have passed the flood story 200 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,000 down through the generations. 201 00:09:31,083 --> 00:09:34,083 SAMI: Now, we may have evidence of a great flood right here, 202 00:09:34,208 --> 00:09:37,000 and this reignites interest in the Durupinar site. 203 00:09:37,167 --> 00:09:38,750 NICOLA: The Turkish government sanctions 204 00:09:38,875 --> 00:09:42,500 further ground-penetrating radar studies in 2014, 205 00:09:42,625 --> 00:09:45,125 in 2019, and again in 2021. 206 00:09:45,250 --> 00:09:49,750 So, as the technology advances, the scans get better, 207 00:09:49,875 --> 00:09:53,750 and we're finding evidence for straight lines. 208 00:09:53,875 --> 00:09:55,833 Now, any time you have a straight line like that, 209 00:09:55,917 --> 00:09:58,500 it could be the result of human occupation. 210 00:09:58,583 --> 00:10:00,500 LAURENCE: Although Turkish authorities 211 00:10:00,667 --> 00:10:03,542 currently restrict access to the site, 212 00:10:03,708 --> 00:10:06,375 some remain hopeful that evidence of the ark 213 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:08,667 may eventually be found. 214 00:10:08,750 --> 00:10:10,708 SAMI: So, there's pretty good evidence 215 00:10:10,833 --> 00:10:12,958 for a large ancient flood here in Turkey. 216 00:10:13,042 --> 00:10:14,833 And if it turns out that this is a boat 217 00:10:14,917 --> 00:10:16,750 that dates to the same time as the flood, 218 00:10:16,875 --> 00:10:19,125 then pretty good chance that we found the inspiration 219 00:10:19,208 --> 00:10:20,667 for Noah's Ark. 220 00:10:20,833 --> 00:10:23,708 LAURENCE: But this is not the only candidate-- 221 00:10:23,875 --> 00:10:25,875 not by a long shot. 222 00:10:29,875 --> 00:10:31,375 LAURENCE: When evidence of a massive ancient flood 223 00:10:31,500 --> 00:10:35,208 is discovered near the Black Sea in 1997, 224 00:10:35,333 --> 00:10:40,292 many believe it may be proof the story of Noah's Ark is real. 225 00:10:40,417 --> 00:10:42,500 This story is famous in three 226 00:10:42,667 --> 00:10:45,458 of the world's major Western religions. 227 00:10:45,583 --> 00:10:48,292 It's in the Jewish and Christian scriptures, 228 00:10:48,417 --> 00:10:50,250 and it's also in the Quran. 229 00:10:50,375 --> 00:10:51,667 But each of these books 230 00:10:51,750 --> 00:10:53,625 only give archaic 231 00:10:53,750 --> 00:10:55,292 or vague locations 232 00:10:55,375 --> 00:10:57,542 for precisely where this might have taken place-- 233 00:10:57,667 --> 00:11:01,333 names of mountains and regions that have been lost to time. 234 00:11:01,458 --> 00:11:05,792 LAURENCE: But one additional ancient text may hold clues. 235 00:11:05,875 --> 00:11:08,708 SAMI: There's an early Roman historian named Josephus 236 00:11:08,875 --> 00:11:10,833 who was writing around the same time 237 00:11:10,958 --> 00:11:12,167 that some of the Bible was written 238 00:11:12,250 --> 00:11:13,792 in the first century A.D. 239 00:11:13,917 --> 00:11:17,292 ROBERT: Flavius Josephus is the most important 240 00:11:17,417 --> 00:11:19,583 source of information about 241 00:11:19,708 --> 00:11:21,542 Judaism outside of the Bible 242 00:11:21,667 --> 00:11:23,500 that we have. 243 00:11:23,625 --> 00:11:25,208 NICOLA: Josephus is actually Jewish, 244 00:11:25,333 --> 00:11:27,833 but he's raised and educated in Rome. 245 00:11:27,917 --> 00:11:29,958 And one of the things he seeks to do in his writings 246 00:11:30,042 --> 00:11:32,750 is to kind of explain the Jewish people 247 00:11:32,875 --> 00:11:34,917 for a Roman audience. 248 00:11:35,042 --> 00:11:38,333 The particular book that Josephus writes still exists. 249 00:11:38,458 --> 00:11:40,958 It's known as "The Antiquities of the Jews." 250 00:11:41,083 --> 00:11:43,792 In researching it, he talks to other Jewish historians 251 00:11:43,917 --> 00:11:46,750 and combs through all these ancient documents, 252 00:11:46,875 --> 00:11:48,500 as many as he can find. 253 00:11:48,625 --> 00:11:50,833 Based on his research, Josephus believes 254 00:11:50,958 --> 00:11:53,500 he's found a new location for the story of Noah, 255 00:11:53,625 --> 00:11:55,875 the ark, and the Great Flood. 256 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,042 He believes it all took place in the Kingdom of Armenia. 257 00:12:02,375 --> 00:12:05,000 While researching his book, Josephus comes across 258 00:12:05,167 --> 00:12:07,333 the writings of a Babylonian historian 259 00:12:07,417 --> 00:12:08,958 whose name is Berossus. 260 00:12:09,083 --> 00:12:13,500 Now, Berossus is writing between 300 and 200 B.C. 261 00:12:13,625 --> 00:12:16,917 SAMI: According to Berossus, the remains of Noah's Ark 262 00:12:17,042 --> 00:12:19,833 are still around in 200 B.C. 263 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,125 Berossus writes, quote, "The ark, grounded in Armenia, 264 00:12:24,250 --> 00:12:27,000 some part still remains in the mountains of Armenia." 265 00:12:27,125 --> 00:12:28,917 NICOLA: Armenia is very mountainous, 266 00:12:29,042 --> 00:12:31,167 and where would you start to look? 267 00:12:31,333 --> 00:12:34,167 As amazing as this little kind of piece 268 00:12:34,333 --> 00:12:36,333 of historical lore goes, 269 00:12:36,458 --> 00:12:40,083 it's still really very vague and unspecified. 270 00:12:40,208 --> 00:12:44,708 LAURENCE: Instead, Josephus tries to track the ark's pieces. 271 00:12:44,875 --> 00:12:47,833 ROBERT: Josephus cites Berossus as saying people 272 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,667 are going up into these mountains in Armenia 273 00:12:50,792 --> 00:12:53,125 to grab chunks of the ship, 274 00:12:53,250 --> 00:12:56,042 taking them as keepsakes and amulets. 275 00:12:56,208 --> 00:12:58,250 SAMI: Eventually, according to Josephus, 276 00:12:58,375 --> 00:13:00,125 most of the ark ends up in a city 277 00:13:00,208 --> 00:13:02,458 in the Kingdom of Armenia called Carrhae. 278 00:13:02,583 --> 00:13:05,833 During Josephus' time, he says they're still showing 279 00:13:05,958 --> 00:13:07,750 pieces of the ark to visitors, 280 00:13:07,875 --> 00:13:10,417 and if true, this could be a tremendous lead. 281 00:13:10,542 --> 00:13:12,833 Who knows, maybe today some traces of the ark 282 00:13:12,958 --> 00:13:14,333 could still be found there. 283 00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:17,042 But there's one problem. 284 00:13:17,167 --> 00:13:21,917 In 1260, the Mongols invade and burn down Carrhae. 285 00:13:23,042 --> 00:13:26,917 LAURENCE: Luckily, the trail doesn't end there. 286 00:13:27,042 --> 00:13:29,792 According to the Armenian Apostolic Church, 287 00:13:29,917 --> 00:13:33,042 a piece of the ark may actually have survived. 288 00:13:33,167 --> 00:13:35,042 ANTHONY: The Armenian Apostolics believe 289 00:13:35,167 --> 00:13:36,875 that in the fourth century A.D. 290 00:13:37,042 --> 00:13:38,500 a holy man by the name 291 00:13:38,583 --> 00:13:41,750 of Jacob of Nisibis 292 00:13:41,875 --> 00:13:43,917 climbed a sacred holy mountain in Armenia, 293 00:13:44,042 --> 00:13:47,292 and there, he found a piece of Noah's Ark. 294 00:13:47,417 --> 00:13:50,000 SAMI: Now, once again, we don't know 295 00:13:50,125 --> 00:13:51,792 precisely where this mountain is. 296 00:13:51,875 --> 00:13:54,417 But we do know what happens to the piece. 297 00:13:54,542 --> 00:13:57,708 Jacob brings it to the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin 298 00:13:57,875 --> 00:13:59,292 in the Armenian Mountains. 299 00:13:59,417 --> 00:14:02,000 ANTHONY: The Cathedral of Etchmiadzin 300 00:14:02,125 --> 00:14:05,667 still exists today in Armenia. 301 00:14:05,792 --> 00:14:08,750 It dates back to the year 301 A.D., 302 00:14:08,875 --> 00:14:10,917 and it is believed by many 303 00:14:11,042 --> 00:14:15,000 to be the oldest Christian cathedral in the world. 304 00:14:15,083 --> 00:14:18,000 LAURENCE: And the cathedral claims to still possess 305 00:14:18,125 --> 00:14:20,917 Jacob's piece of Noah's Ark. 306 00:14:21,042 --> 00:14:22,958 There was an ornate reliquary 307 00:14:23,083 --> 00:14:26,458 built in the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin in 1698 308 00:14:26,583 --> 00:14:30,542 that supposedly housed this piece of wood. 309 00:14:30,708 --> 00:14:33,542 DUSTIN: No one's ever tested it and we don't know how old it is. 310 00:14:33,667 --> 00:14:34,708 We're not even sure what kind 311 00:14:34,833 --> 00:14:36,375 of tree it comes from. 312 00:14:36,542 --> 00:14:39,708 ANTHONY: It is unlikely that it will ever be allowed 313 00:14:39,833 --> 00:14:41,667 to leave the cathedral, 314 00:14:41,833 --> 00:14:45,917 since it is a precious religious relic. 315 00:14:46,042 --> 00:14:50,833 But maybe someday, science can definitively link it 316 00:14:50,917 --> 00:14:53,167 to the Great Flood. 317 00:14:54,250 --> 00:14:56,375 DUSTIN: Even if you accurately date this piece of wood, 318 00:14:56,542 --> 00:14:58,500 that doesn't necessarily mean it's part of the story 319 00:14:58,583 --> 00:15:00,083 from the Bible. 320 00:15:00,208 --> 00:15:01,792 But there's possible evidence that Noah's Ark 321 00:15:01,875 --> 00:15:03,792 is based on a real story, 322 00:15:03,917 --> 00:15:05,667 and it's not because of an object. 323 00:15:05,792 --> 00:15:07,667 It's because of the story itself. 324 00:15:07,833 --> 00:15:10,833 NICOLA: Sure enough, there is another ancient flood story. 325 00:15:10,958 --> 00:15:12,500 This one is older than Christianity, 326 00:15:12,625 --> 00:15:14,167 it's older than Islam, 327 00:15:14,333 --> 00:15:16,042 and it comes out of ancient Greece. 328 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,208 LAURENCE: The ancient Greek flood story 329 00:15:22,333 --> 00:15:26,000 is surprisingly similar to the biblical account. 330 00:15:26,083 --> 00:15:29,000 So, once again, in this you have a man, 331 00:15:29,125 --> 00:15:31,083 a flood, and a boat. 332 00:15:31,208 --> 00:15:32,875 The protagonist of this peculiar story 333 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,792 is called Deucalion, 334 00:15:34,875 --> 00:15:38,083 and Deucalion lives in a very mountainous region of Greece 335 00:15:38,208 --> 00:15:39,583 called the Peloponnese. 336 00:15:39,708 --> 00:15:43,292 SAMI: Zeus, god of lightning, the leader of the Greek gods, 337 00:15:43,417 --> 00:15:47,125 becomes enraged because mankind is corrupt and evil. 338 00:15:47,208 --> 00:15:50,958 And according to the story, Zeus unleashes a massive deluge, 339 00:15:51,042 --> 00:15:53,208 with the rivers and the sea flooding everywhere. 340 00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:56,750 NICOLA: Deucalion builds what is described 341 00:15:56,875 --> 00:16:00,542 in the flood story as a giant chest, 342 00:16:00,708 --> 00:16:04,417 and he and his wife climb into this chest, 343 00:16:04,542 --> 00:16:07,542 and they float around through this deluge 344 00:16:07,708 --> 00:16:09,292 for nine days and nights. 345 00:16:09,417 --> 00:16:12,375 Finally, it touches down on solid land 346 00:16:12,542 --> 00:16:14,875 on a mountainside, and just like Noah, 347 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,542 Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha are the only human survivors 348 00:16:18,708 --> 00:16:20,542 of this great flood. 349 00:16:20,667 --> 00:16:23,167 SAMI: Deucalion's flood is one of the key stories 350 00:16:23,333 --> 00:16:25,375 in Greek mythology, and it's pretty interesting 351 00:16:25,542 --> 00:16:28,167 that this same tale pops up in more than one place. 352 00:16:28,250 --> 00:16:32,125 But again, makes you wanna ask, is this just a myth? 353 00:16:33,292 --> 00:16:36,042 LAURENCE: Then, in the early 1600s, 354 00:16:36,208 --> 00:16:39,458 a key new piece of evidence emerges. 355 00:16:39,542 --> 00:16:41,542 NICOLA: There's a man called Thomas Howard. 356 00:16:41,708 --> 00:16:44,167 He's a British nobleman, 357 00:16:44,292 --> 00:16:48,875 and he is like many of the elite men of his day, 358 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,583 very interested in going on what was called "the grand tour." 359 00:16:51,708 --> 00:16:54,333 That is, he would travel to all the archaic regions-- 360 00:16:54,417 --> 00:16:57,625 Italy, Greece, what's now Turkey, 361 00:16:57,708 --> 00:17:03,000 and he would, on this tour, bring back as many antiquities 362 00:17:03,083 --> 00:17:06,417 as he could possibly carry back with him. 363 00:17:06,542 --> 00:17:11,250 LAURENCE: In 1627, he buys two small pieces of marble 364 00:17:11,375 --> 00:17:13,500 with ancient Greek writing on them. 365 00:17:13,667 --> 00:17:15,875 SAMI: They've given to a respected English scholar 366 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,750 named John Selden, who begins working 367 00:17:17,875 --> 00:17:19,333 on a translation of the writing. 368 00:17:19,500 --> 00:17:22,917 NICOLA: As Selden starts this process 369 00:17:23,042 --> 00:17:25,250 of translating these texts, 370 00:17:25,375 --> 00:17:29,417 he realizes that he has in his hands 371 00:17:29,542 --> 00:17:32,458 something really interesting and really important. 372 00:17:33,542 --> 00:17:38,500 What he's got is a listing of historical events 373 00:17:38,625 --> 00:17:40,833 since ancient antiquity. 374 00:17:40,958 --> 00:17:43,833 Since these marble pieces originated 375 00:17:43,917 --> 00:17:45,833 on the island of Paros, 376 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,542 he calls this the Parian Chronicle. 377 00:17:48,708 --> 00:17:51,333 SAMI: And right there on the Parian Chronicle 378 00:17:51,500 --> 00:17:54,167 amongst all the other historical events 379 00:17:54,292 --> 00:17:56,458 is an entry for Deucalion's flood. 380 00:17:56,542 --> 00:17:59,000 There it is, just carved in stone with a date 381 00:17:59,125 --> 00:18:02,750 that may just prove this version of Noah's Ark is actually real. 382 00:18:08,042 --> 00:18:09,667 LAURENCE: When the Parian Chronicle 383 00:18:09,792 --> 00:18:14,042 is discovered in ancient Greece in the early 17th century, 384 00:18:14,167 --> 00:18:16,833 some scholars believe it could hold the answer 385 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,125 to the mystery of Noah's Ark. 386 00:18:19,250 --> 00:18:21,750 The biblical story could in fact 387 00:18:21,875 --> 00:18:24,083 be inspired by the story 388 00:18:24,208 --> 00:18:27,333 of Deucalion, or it's possible 389 00:18:27,458 --> 00:18:31,167 that they both related to the same historical event. 390 00:18:31,292 --> 00:18:34,792 Either way, according to the Parian Chronicle, 391 00:18:34,875 --> 00:18:37,250 Deucalion's flood was an actual historical event, 392 00:18:37,375 --> 00:18:40,333 and it took place in 1581 B.C. 393 00:18:41,458 --> 00:18:42,833 SAMI: When historians get a look at that date, 394 00:18:42,958 --> 00:18:44,458 they get pretty excited, 395 00:18:44,542 --> 00:18:46,708 because there's a real-life event 396 00:18:46,833 --> 00:18:48,250 that fits that timeline, 397 00:18:48,375 --> 00:18:50,000 which could well have inspired 398 00:18:50,125 --> 00:18:51,792 this widespread flood myth. 399 00:18:51,875 --> 00:18:56,208 There's a huge natural disaster that is so catastrophic, 400 00:18:56,333 --> 00:18:59,083 observers as far away as Egypt, 401 00:18:59,208 --> 00:19:01,625 and even China record its impact. 402 00:19:01,708 --> 00:19:05,667 It's called the Minoan eruption, on the Greek island of Thera. 403 00:19:05,750 --> 00:19:08,625 LAURENCE: Thera is an active volcanic island 404 00:19:08,708 --> 00:19:10,417 in the Aegean Sea. 405 00:19:10,542 --> 00:19:15,167 And right there, at some point in the late 1500 B.C., 406 00:19:15,250 --> 00:19:17,167 this volcano suddenly erupts. 407 00:19:18,208 --> 00:19:21,083 What's even deadlier than this eruption 408 00:19:21,208 --> 00:19:24,125 is actually the tsunami that it creates. 409 00:19:24,208 --> 00:19:27,958 SAMI: It has an estimated wave height of 400 feet 410 00:19:28,042 --> 00:19:30,208 radiating out from the eruption site. 411 00:19:30,375 --> 00:19:33,083 This floods and destroys everything 412 00:19:33,208 --> 00:19:35,333 for hundreds of miles in every direction, 413 00:19:35,417 --> 00:19:38,833 and many believe the destruction of the island of Thera 414 00:19:38,958 --> 00:19:41,042 inspired Deucalion's flood. 415 00:19:41,208 --> 00:19:43,917 LAURENCE: If this is Deucalion's flood, 416 00:19:44,042 --> 00:19:47,208 what became of his version of the ark? 417 00:19:47,333 --> 00:19:50,542 NICOLA: Depending on which ancient author you believe, 418 00:19:50,667 --> 00:19:54,167 there are four possible locations for the mountainside 419 00:19:54,292 --> 00:19:57,417 where this chest of Deucalion comes to rest. 420 00:19:57,542 --> 00:20:00,000 Of the four, there's only one that shows evidence 421 00:20:00,083 --> 00:20:03,500 that dates back to around the second millennium B.C., 422 00:20:03,667 --> 00:20:05,500 Mount Parnassus. 423 00:20:05,625 --> 00:20:08,333 LAURENCE: Mount Parnassus features an ancient settlement 424 00:20:08,417 --> 00:20:12,667 called Delphi, most known today for its famed oracle. 425 00:20:12,833 --> 00:20:15,292 SAMI: If there were any survivors of the flood, 426 00:20:15,375 --> 00:20:17,208 this is one of the best candidates 427 00:20:17,333 --> 00:20:19,125 for where they might have set up a new town. 428 00:20:19,250 --> 00:20:22,542 But so far, no ark, no boat, 429 00:20:22,667 --> 00:20:25,625 no giant chest has been found in Delphi. 430 00:20:26,875 --> 00:20:29,417 LAURENCE: But could there be an entirely different location 431 00:20:29,542 --> 00:20:32,208 where Noah's Ark came to rest? 432 00:20:32,333 --> 00:20:35,333 According to famed 17th century explorer, 433 00:20:35,458 --> 00:20:39,542 Sir Walter Raleigh, the answer is in the Bible. 434 00:20:39,667 --> 00:20:42,833 NICOLA: Late in life, Raleigh sets on writing 435 00:20:42,958 --> 00:20:45,333 a very ambitious project 436 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:48,667 called "The History of the World, in Five Books." 437 00:20:48,792 --> 00:20:50,708 Sir Walter Raleigh is a Christian, 438 00:20:50,875 --> 00:20:53,208 and he really kind of goes back to what he sees 439 00:20:53,333 --> 00:20:55,083 as the most important historical text, 440 00:20:55,208 --> 00:20:57,167 and that's the Old Testament, 441 00:20:57,333 --> 00:20:59,292 starting with the Book of Genesis. 442 00:20:59,375 --> 00:21:01,917 And he takes a close look at the story of Noah's Ark. 443 00:21:02,958 --> 00:21:04,875 ANTHONY: During Sir Walter Raleigh's time, 444 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:06,833 people believed that the ark 445 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:08,667 landed in the mountains 446 00:21:08,792 --> 00:21:10,833 of Ararat in Turkey. 447 00:21:10,958 --> 00:21:14,667 But Sir Walter Raleigh came up with a shocking proposal. 448 00:21:14,750 --> 00:21:16,875 SAMI: According to his research, 449 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:18,667 the story of Noah and the Great Flood occurred 450 00:21:18,750 --> 00:21:22,042 some 2,000 miles away from Turkey in India. 451 00:21:26,208 --> 00:21:27,833 LAURENCE: Raleigh finds several key clues 452 00:21:27,958 --> 00:21:29,750 that suggest India. 453 00:21:29,875 --> 00:21:32,583 ROBERT: The Bible talks about the descendants of the Flood 454 00:21:32,708 --> 00:21:35,250 traveling to a place called Shinar-- 455 00:21:35,375 --> 00:21:37,750 it's a name for Mesopotamia-- 456 00:21:37,875 --> 00:21:40,333 from the East-- Mekedem. 457 00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:43,708 Now, Walter Raleigh asked the question, 458 00:21:43,833 --> 00:21:47,000 why would the descendants of the Flood 459 00:21:47,167 --> 00:21:49,417 be traveling to Shinar 460 00:21:49,542 --> 00:21:53,000 from the east if Mount Ararat 461 00:21:53,167 --> 00:21:55,542 is to the northwest? 462 00:21:55,667 --> 00:21:58,500 So, he suggested that we should be looking for Noah's Ark 463 00:21:58,625 --> 00:22:03,167 in a massive mountain range to the east of Mesopotamia. 464 00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:06,542 And that would be the Himalayas in India. 465 00:22:06,708 --> 00:22:09,500 SAMI: The other thing he's looking for is vineyards, 466 00:22:09,625 --> 00:22:12,708 because in the Bible, it says that one of the first things 467 00:22:12,833 --> 00:22:15,875 Noah does when he lands is plant a vineyard of grapes. 468 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,792 LAURENCE: Raleigh points to another written account 469 00:22:18,875 --> 00:22:21,333 to support his claim. 470 00:22:21,500 --> 00:22:22,917 Raleigh reads a history 471 00:22:23,042 --> 00:22:25,708 of Alexander the Great's conquests in India. 472 00:22:25,875 --> 00:22:28,667 Now, it says that after a successful campaign in India, 473 00:22:28,833 --> 00:22:32,167 quote, "did Alexander feast himself and his army 474 00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:36,458 ten days together finding therein the most delicate wine." 475 00:22:36,542 --> 00:22:39,375 This pretty much seals the deal for Raleigh. 476 00:22:39,500 --> 00:22:43,583 Of course, today we'd say his argument is a little thin. 477 00:22:43,708 --> 00:22:46,167 LAURENCE: But there may be more substantial evidence 478 00:22:46,292 --> 00:22:47,917 to prove his theory. 479 00:22:48,042 --> 00:22:49,542 SAMI: Raleigh doesn't seem to be aware of this, 480 00:22:49,708 --> 00:22:52,833 but there's a well-known story of a massive flood 481 00:22:52,958 --> 00:22:54,125 in Indian folklore. 482 00:22:55,542 --> 00:22:57,000 LAURENCE: The Indian flood legend 483 00:22:57,167 --> 00:23:01,708 appears in a sacred text known as the Matsya Purana. 484 00:23:01,833 --> 00:23:04,583 ROBERT: In this story, Vaivasvata Manu 485 00:23:04,708 --> 00:23:09,083 is warned by Vishnu, one of the chief Indian deities, 486 00:23:09,208 --> 00:23:11,458 of a great flood. 487 00:23:11,542 --> 00:23:15,833 Manu survives the flood by crafting a giant boat, 488 00:23:15,917 --> 00:23:18,167 and saves humanity. 489 00:23:18,250 --> 00:23:20,583 SAMI: Yet again, the similarities to Noah 490 00:23:20,708 --> 00:23:23,292 are uncanny, and so we find ourselves wondering, 491 00:23:23,375 --> 00:23:24,833 was Raleigh actually right? 492 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:28,792 Did the Great Flood take place in India? 493 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,333 LAURENCE: In 2017, Indian archaeologist B.B. Lal 494 00:23:34,417 --> 00:23:37,167 believes he's uncovered the answer. 495 00:23:37,292 --> 00:23:39,458 B.B. Lal is the former director general 496 00:23:39,542 --> 00:23:41,667 of the archaeological survey for the state of India, 497 00:23:41,750 --> 00:23:45,042 and he was doing research in the Indus Valley 498 00:23:45,208 --> 00:23:51,542 looking at the civilizations from 4000 to 1000 B.C.E. 499 00:23:51,667 --> 00:23:54,000 Now, he's actually trying to solve a different mystery. 500 00:23:54,167 --> 00:23:56,792 This ancient culture describes a great holy river 501 00:23:56,875 --> 00:23:59,333 in northwestern India called the Saraswati, 502 00:23:59,417 --> 00:24:00,833 but it's not there anymore. 503 00:24:00,917 --> 00:24:03,542 It's said to have just disappeared. 504 00:24:03,708 --> 00:24:06,500 Now, he discovers that there was a massive tectonic shift 505 00:24:06,583 --> 00:24:08,875 around 2000 B.C. that suddenly obstructed 506 00:24:09,042 --> 00:24:11,250 the Saraswati River's path into a nearby valley, 507 00:24:11,375 --> 00:24:13,833 flooding it in a massive deluge. 508 00:24:13,958 --> 00:24:16,792 Lal believe that this explains both the fate 509 00:24:16,875 --> 00:24:20,042 of the Saraswati River and Manu's flood. 510 00:24:20,167 --> 00:24:23,708 He believes he's proven that Manu's flood is real. 511 00:24:24,958 --> 00:24:28,042 LAURENCE: If correct, could this be the origin story 512 00:24:28,167 --> 00:24:30,375 of Noah's infamous flood? 513 00:24:30,542 --> 00:24:32,500 B.B. Lal passes away, unfortunately, 514 00:24:32,583 --> 00:24:34,833 in September of 2022, before he's able 515 00:24:34,917 --> 00:24:37,208 to further develop his Indian flood theory. 516 00:24:37,333 --> 00:24:39,250 But it is kind of interesting to see 517 00:24:39,375 --> 00:24:41,500 how this well-known English researcher 518 00:24:41,625 --> 00:24:43,833 and this great Indian archaeologist 519 00:24:43,958 --> 00:24:47,333 both point to the same conclusion 400 years apart 520 00:24:47,500 --> 00:24:49,792 using very different methods. 521 00:24:49,875 --> 00:24:52,833 The Indus Valley remains a hotbed 522 00:24:52,958 --> 00:24:54,792 of archaeological exploration. 523 00:24:54,875 --> 00:24:56,750 So, who knows what they might turn up? 524 00:24:56,875 --> 00:24:58,542 DUSTIN: Maybe one day we'll find out 525 00:24:58,708 --> 00:25:00,958 that both Raleigh and Lal were right, 526 00:25:01,083 --> 00:25:03,750 and this is the location of the Great Flood. 527 00:25:07,792 --> 00:25:09,708 In 1985, the long hunt for Noah's Ark 528 00:25:09,875 --> 00:25:13,250 takes a sudden turn when a 4,000-year-old clay tablet 529 00:25:13,375 --> 00:25:16,792 is discovered in the attic of a British Air Force veteran. 530 00:25:16,875 --> 00:25:19,708 It takes many years to translate, 531 00:25:19,833 --> 00:25:22,500 but some believe it could finally solve the mystery 532 00:25:22,583 --> 00:25:24,750 of where the Bible's Great Flood took place 533 00:25:24,875 --> 00:25:28,000 and where the ark itself landed. 534 00:25:29,875 --> 00:25:32,000 NICOLA: In the 1980s in England, 535 00:25:32,125 --> 00:25:34,958 a man by the name of Leonard Simmons passes away. 536 00:25:35,042 --> 00:25:38,417 Simmons had led a really interesting life. 537 00:25:38,542 --> 00:25:40,500 So, he had been a Royal Air Force officer, 538 00:25:40,625 --> 00:25:42,583 and as such, he traveled a lot 539 00:25:42,708 --> 00:25:43,917 around the world, 540 00:25:44,042 --> 00:25:45,208 around the Mediterranean Basin, 541 00:25:45,333 --> 00:25:47,083 and he had collected 542 00:25:47,208 --> 00:25:49,375 on his travels a lot of different artifacts 543 00:25:49,542 --> 00:25:51,792 which he brought back to England with him. 544 00:25:52,958 --> 00:25:54,875 SAMI: Simmons' son Douglas would like to know 545 00:25:55,042 --> 00:25:57,167 what some of these things are, so every so often, 546 00:25:57,333 --> 00:25:59,500 he'll take one and bring it to the British Museum. 547 00:25:59,625 --> 00:26:02,000 One day in 1985, he arrives 548 00:26:02,125 --> 00:26:03,583 with a tiny clay tablet, 549 00:26:03,708 --> 00:26:06,000 maybe four inches high, not very big. 550 00:26:06,167 --> 00:26:09,958 It's covered front and back in cuneiform script, 551 00:26:10,083 --> 00:26:12,750 the writing of ancient Mesopotamia. 552 00:26:13,875 --> 00:26:16,500 NICOLA: Simmons meets with Dr. Irving Finkel, 553 00:26:16,625 --> 00:26:20,000 who is chief curator for Near Eastern artifacts 554 00:26:20,167 --> 00:26:21,500 at the British Museum. 555 00:26:21,625 --> 00:26:25,417 And when Finkel starts working with this text, 556 00:26:25,542 --> 00:26:28,792 he is apparently really amazed. 557 00:26:28,917 --> 00:26:31,625 POLLY: Finkel knows that every single scratch 558 00:26:31,708 --> 00:26:33,292 on this tablet is gold. 559 00:26:33,417 --> 00:26:35,083 His eyes scan the first line, 560 00:26:35,208 --> 00:26:37,500 and he's almost drowning in excitement at this point, 561 00:26:37,583 --> 00:26:40,750 because here in this tiny tablet is an account 562 00:26:40,875 --> 00:26:42,833 of a devastating flood. 563 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,000 LAURENCE: Finkel asks Simmons if he can keep the tablet 564 00:26:46,125 --> 00:26:50,083 to fully translate it, but Simmons declines. 565 00:26:50,208 --> 00:26:52,833 Finkel really wants a crack at this tablet, 566 00:26:52,958 --> 00:26:54,625 because he's devoted his life 567 00:26:54,708 --> 00:26:56,500 to the study of these cuneiform writings, 568 00:26:56,583 --> 00:26:59,167 and he knows that this is something special. 569 00:26:59,250 --> 00:27:01,167 Finkel's department at the British Museum 570 00:27:01,250 --> 00:27:06,000 includes over 130,000 of these clay cuneiform tablets, 571 00:27:06,125 --> 00:27:09,167 most of which were unearthed in 1852 in Iraq. 572 00:27:09,292 --> 00:27:11,917 NICOLA: Ancient Mesopotamians used cuneiform 573 00:27:12,042 --> 00:27:14,333 essentially to kind of keep track of things 574 00:27:14,458 --> 00:27:16,042 like provisioning-- how many ducks 575 00:27:16,167 --> 00:27:18,833 were needed for a feast, things like that. 576 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,583 SAMI: But they also wrote down at least one 577 00:27:21,708 --> 00:27:23,917 exciting historical tale-- 578 00:27:24,042 --> 00:27:28,000 one of my favorites, the Epic of Gilgamesh. 579 00:27:29,208 --> 00:27:32,500 LAURENCE: The poem recounts the exploits of King Gilgamesh, 580 00:27:32,583 --> 00:27:35,208 who ruled in ancient Mesopotamia, 581 00:27:35,333 --> 00:27:37,833 an area near modern-day Iraq. 582 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,500 NICOLA: The story begins with a great flood 583 00:27:41,625 --> 00:27:46,833 that is sent by the gods that basically wipes out everything. 584 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,708 ROBERT: Most scholars believe that the Epic of Gilgamesh 585 00:27:49,833 --> 00:27:52,667 was written between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, 586 00:27:52,750 --> 00:27:54,417 and it plays out 587 00:27:54,542 --> 00:27:55,833 almost identically 588 00:27:55,958 --> 00:27:57,542 to the story of Noah's Ark. 589 00:27:57,708 --> 00:28:01,500 But it's important to remember that this story 590 00:28:01,625 --> 00:28:06,500 was written 1,000, if not more, years before 591 00:28:06,667 --> 00:28:08,625 the story of Noah's Ark. 592 00:28:08,750 --> 00:28:10,917 So, the big question that we have is, 593 00:28:11,042 --> 00:28:13,125 was there one original event, 594 00:28:13,208 --> 00:28:15,000 or were there lots of different floods 595 00:28:15,125 --> 00:28:16,667 or different flood stories? 596 00:28:17,917 --> 00:28:19,667 NICOLA: In the Epic of Gilgamesh, 597 00:28:19,792 --> 00:28:22,292 an immortal man by the name of Utnapishtim 598 00:28:22,417 --> 00:28:24,542 rounds up various animals 599 00:28:24,667 --> 00:28:27,292 and brings them with him into an ark. 600 00:28:27,375 --> 00:28:30,083 Together, they survive this catastrophic flood. 601 00:28:31,667 --> 00:28:35,000 ROBERT: Utnapishtim's boat comes to rest 602 00:28:35,167 --> 00:28:37,625 on a mountain called Mount Nimush. 603 00:28:37,750 --> 00:28:39,500 And this story is so similar 604 00:28:39,625 --> 00:28:43,833 to the story of Noah's Ark, that many scholars believe 605 00:28:43,917 --> 00:28:47,833 that the story of Noah's Ark is a direct descendant 606 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:52,000 of the story of Utnapishtim and the Epic of Gilgamesh. 607 00:28:52,083 --> 00:28:55,083 That means Noah's Great Flood actually takes place 608 00:28:55,208 --> 00:28:57,375 in Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq. 609 00:29:00,792 --> 00:29:03,167 LAURENCE: When Dr. Finkel first examines 610 00:29:03,292 --> 00:29:07,250 Douglas Simmons' clay tablet, he hopes it holds answers 611 00:29:07,375 --> 00:29:09,167 that Gilgamesh doesn't. 612 00:29:09,292 --> 00:29:11,333 SAMI: The tablet at the British Museum 613 00:29:11,458 --> 00:29:12,750 that Gilgamesh is written on 614 00:29:12,875 --> 00:29:15,083 is missing some pretty critical lines. 615 00:29:15,208 --> 00:29:16,750 It says "The ark that you are to build," 616 00:29:16,875 --> 00:29:18,917 blank, "be equal," blank. 617 00:29:19,042 --> 00:29:20,250 It's like going through a tunnel with your cell phone, 618 00:29:20,375 --> 00:29:21,250 you miss certain parts. 619 00:29:21,375 --> 00:29:24,000 The tablet is broken, the story is incomplete. 620 00:29:24,125 --> 00:29:27,875 Finkel is hoping that this new find from Simmons' attic 621 00:29:28,042 --> 00:29:29,792 can fill in the blanks. 622 00:29:29,875 --> 00:29:31,875 Finkel finally convinces Douglas Simmons 623 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,333 to let him translate the tablet in 2009. 624 00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:36,875 And as expected, it's a retelling 625 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,042 of the Mesopotamian flood story. 626 00:29:40,125 --> 00:29:42,333 LAURENCE: Dr. Finkel spends the next four years 627 00:29:42,458 --> 00:29:44,458 decoding the writing. 628 00:29:44,542 --> 00:29:45,917 SAMI: The tablet is so old 629 00:29:46,042 --> 00:29:47,333 that he's having a hard time reading it. 630 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:49,125 So, he has to have it 3D-scanned 631 00:29:49,250 --> 00:29:51,167 in order to complete the translation. 632 00:29:51,250 --> 00:29:55,042 In 2013, he's finally ready to publish his findings. 633 00:29:55,167 --> 00:29:57,458 NICOLA: Finkel believes that this was worth 634 00:29:57,583 --> 00:30:02,167 the nearly 30-year wait, because what he's got in there 635 00:30:02,250 --> 00:30:05,667 is explicit instructions for how to build the ark. 636 00:30:05,750 --> 00:30:07,708 SAMI: I mean, this is incredible! 637 00:30:07,833 --> 00:30:11,000 A British tourist buys a souvenir in 1948, 638 00:30:11,125 --> 00:30:13,042 puts it in his attic, where it sits for decades 639 00:30:13,167 --> 00:30:15,500 until his death, and the whole time, 640 00:30:15,625 --> 00:30:18,083 he had the ark's instruction manual. 641 00:30:19,250 --> 00:30:21,458 LAURENCE: The tablet describes in great detail 642 00:30:21,583 --> 00:30:26,333 the measurements, materials, and construction process. 643 00:30:26,417 --> 00:30:29,208 SAMI: It reads more clearly than most build-it-yourself 644 00:30:29,333 --> 00:30:31,208 furniture instructions these days. 645 00:30:31,375 --> 00:30:34,208 It describes how to make the ropes to bind it together, 646 00:30:34,333 --> 00:30:38,000 how to space out and connect 30 ribs and 3,600 stanchions, 647 00:30:38,083 --> 00:30:40,417 and how to waterproof it with bitumen. 648 00:30:40,542 --> 00:30:44,250 NICOLA: The boat built as described is enormous. 649 00:30:44,375 --> 00:30:46,333 It's 4,300 square yards, 650 00:30:46,458 --> 00:30:49,000 about the size of a modern football field, 651 00:30:49,167 --> 00:30:52,375 and its walls are about 20 feet tall. 652 00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:55,458 The length of rope that's needed on this boat 653 00:30:55,542 --> 00:30:58,875 would stretch from New York all the way to Pittsburgh. 654 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,167 And the weird thing about this boat 655 00:31:01,292 --> 00:31:05,042 is that it's not rectangular, it's actually circular. 656 00:31:06,250 --> 00:31:08,167 SAMI: This is much different from the vague metaphor 657 00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:09,917 of the biblical story of Noah. 658 00:31:10,042 --> 00:31:13,125 It also rings much truer. It's more convincing. 659 00:31:13,208 --> 00:31:15,500 The level of detail of these instructions, 660 00:31:15,625 --> 00:31:18,625 it seems like they're meant to be followed. 661 00:31:18,750 --> 00:31:21,000 It seems like this is a literal boat 662 00:31:21,125 --> 00:31:23,333 that is supposed to be actually built. 663 00:31:23,500 --> 00:31:27,500 So, the natural next step if you've got these instructions 664 00:31:27,583 --> 00:31:28,500 is to build it. 665 00:31:34,542 --> 00:31:37,917 LAURENCE: In 2014, a 4,000-year-old tablet 666 00:31:38,042 --> 00:31:42,583 translated by Dr. Irving Finkel reveals instructions 667 00:31:42,708 --> 00:31:45,542 to build a massive boat. 668 00:31:45,708 --> 00:31:48,667 NICOLA: Many people believe that this tablet is proof 669 00:31:48,750 --> 00:31:50,500 that Noah's Ark was real, 670 00:31:50,583 --> 00:31:51,833 and that it was used 671 00:31:51,917 --> 00:31:54,167 to survive the Great Flood 672 00:31:54,250 --> 00:31:57,333 that was in Mesopotamia, which is now modern-day Iraq. 673 00:31:57,458 --> 00:32:01,000 LAURENCE: To test that theory, a team of Indian archaeologists 674 00:32:01,083 --> 00:32:04,042 attempts to build a version of the ark. 675 00:32:04,208 --> 00:32:05,333 They don't have the money 676 00:32:05,458 --> 00:32:06,500 or the time to build 677 00:32:06,625 --> 00:32:07,625 the full-size version. 678 00:32:07,708 --> 00:32:10,458 So, they decide they're going to make the replica 679 00:32:10,583 --> 00:32:13,375 at one-fifth the size of the original version. 680 00:32:15,083 --> 00:32:16,667 SAMI: Even scaled down, 681 00:32:16,792 --> 00:32:18,500 the finished product weighs 35 tons 682 00:32:18,625 --> 00:32:19,667 and is made of wood, 683 00:32:19,833 --> 00:32:21,000 rope, and bitumen, 684 00:32:21,083 --> 00:32:22,667 which is a form of natural tar 685 00:32:22,792 --> 00:32:24,333 that will waterproof the boat. 686 00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:26,500 NICOLA: So, this team sets up shop. 687 00:32:26,625 --> 00:32:29,583 They gather all the necessary tools that they would need, 688 00:32:29,708 --> 00:32:33,375 and they're really kind of keeping it to the sorts of tools 689 00:32:33,500 --> 00:32:35,833 and materials that would have been available 690 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:37,875 in ancient Mesopotamia. 691 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,917 SAMI: No metal, no adhesive, no power tools. 692 00:32:41,042 --> 00:32:43,500 The wood acts as like a sort of skeleton 693 00:32:43,625 --> 00:32:45,958 that they wrap over a mile of rope around, 694 00:32:46,042 --> 00:32:47,375 kind of like a giant basket. 695 00:32:47,542 --> 00:32:48,792 It's like they're weaving it, almost. 696 00:32:48,875 --> 00:32:52,042 Then, they add the bitumen last, which waterproofs the hull. 697 00:32:53,208 --> 00:32:55,000 LAURENCE: Finally, after four months of building, 698 00:32:55,125 --> 00:32:56,958 they construct a platform with rollers 699 00:32:57,083 --> 00:33:00,000 to launch their creation into the Indian Ocean. 700 00:33:00,167 --> 00:33:01,500 SAMI: It's the moment of truth. 701 00:33:01,625 --> 00:33:04,708 Dr. Finkel himself comes to India to observe. 702 00:33:04,833 --> 00:33:06,875 The team is holding their breath. 703 00:33:07,042 --> 00:33:09,458 Will this bizarre-looking ship actually float? 704 00:33:09,542 --> 00:33:12,500 They manage to get it into the water, and... 705 00:33:12,625 --> 00:33:14,292 the ark floats! 706 00:33:14,375 --> 00:33:16,000 I mean, this is pretty incredible. 707 00:33:16,125 --> 00:33:17,458 We're talking about a set of instructions 708 00:33:17,542 --> 00:33:21,042 that are thousands of years old, and they work. 709 00:33:21,167 --> 00:33:23,292 Dr. Finkel is ecstatic. 710 00:33:23,375 --> 00:33:25,750 In press interviews, he says a boat like this 711 00:33:25,875 --> 00:33:28,417 could potentially have floated all the way to New York. 712 00:33:28,542 --> 00:33:30,333 DUSTIN: So now, there's even more evidence 713 00:33:30,458 --> 00:33:33,333 to tie the story of Noah's Ark to Mesopotamia. 714 00:33:33,458 --> 00:33:35,333 We have a legendary great flood 715 00:33:35,417 --> 00:33:38,292 and instructions for a seaworthy ark. 716 00:33:39,375 --> 00:33:42,042 LAURENCE: But where could that ark have ended up? 717 00:33:42,167 --> 00:33:44,333 One man thinks he knows the answer. 718 00:33:44,458 --> 00:33:47,458 SAMI: Bob Cornuke is an amateur archaeologist 719 00:33:47,542 --> 00:33:49,792 who specializes in biblical geography. 720 00:33:49,875 --> 00:33:53,083 He spends over a decade searching for Noah's Ark. 721 00:33:53,208 --> 00:33:55,625 ROBERT: Cornuke is a biblical apologist. 722 00:33:55,708 --> 00:33:56,875 He wants to prove the Bible 723 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,167 to be true, so he starts out 724 00:33:59,292 --> 00:34:00,917 looking for Noah's Ark 725 00:34:01,042 --> 00:34:03,000 on Mount Ararat, 726 00:34:03,125 --> 00:34:05,000 and of course, he's unsuccessful. 727 00:34:05,083 --> 00:34:07,500 Then he meets a man named Ed Davis. 728 00:34:07,625 --> 00:34:11,667 In 1943, Ed Davis was working for the Army Corps of Engineers 729 00:34:11,792 --> 00:34:14,458 in the Hamadan province in Iran. 730 00:34:14,542 --> 00:34:16,500 According to Davis, the locals take him 731 00:34:16,625 --> 00:34:19,417 up to the top of a mountain 13,000 feet up, 732 00:34:19,542 --> 00:34:21,417 and they show him what they believe 733 00:34:21,542 --> 00:34:25,375 to be the remains of Noah's Ark. 734 00:34:28,375 --> 00:34:30,000 DUSTIN: This sounds like a tall tale, 735 00:34:30,083 --> 00:34:32,375 but Davis takes a lie detector test 736 00:34:32,542 --> 00:34:33,833 and passes it. 737 00:34:33,958 --> 00:34:35,667 And the more research Cornuke does, 738 00:34:35,792 --> 00:34:37,625 the more convinced he becomes. 739 00:34:38,875 --> 00:34:41,250 LAURENCE: To try and locate the mountain for himself, 740 00:34:41,375 --> 00:34:44,708 Cornuke examines a 1,000-year-old map. 741 00:34:44,833 --> 00:34:47,625 NICOLA: The Hereford Mappa Mundi 742 00:34:47,708 --> 00:34:51,125 is a massive medieval map 743 00:34:51,208 --> 00:34:52,833 of the ancient world. 744 00:34:52,917 --> 00:34:56,333 I mean, it's huge, it's like four feet by five feet. 745 00:34:56,458 --> 00:35:00,333 And right there in the middle of this medieval map, 746 00:35:00,500 --> 00:35:04,500 in the center of it is Noah's Ark in Hamadan, 747 00:35:04,667 --> 00:35:07,792 which is right next to where Ed Davis is stationed. 748 00:35:07,917 --> 00:35:10,833 SAMI: Cornuke is able to locate a holy mountain in this area 749 00:35:10,958 --> 00:35:12,500 known as Mount Suleiman, 750 00:35:12,625 --> 00:35:15,292 which is also known as the Throne of Solomon. 751 00:35:16,375 --> 00:35:19,000 LAURENCE: Cornuke flies to Iran in 2005 752 00:35:19,125 --> 00:35:23,167 intent on climbing Mount Suleiman. 753 00:35:23,250 --> 00:35:25,875 SAMI: He climbs the mountain, and at 13,000 feet up, 754 00:35:26,042 --> 00:35:29,500 at the same elevation where Ed Davis described the ark, 755 00:35:29,625 --> 00:35:32,750 Cornuke finds several rocks that are, quote, 756 00:35:32,875 --> 00:35:36,333 "uncannily beam-like in appearance," end quote. 757 00:35:36,417 --> 00:35:38,958 He believes these are petrified wood. 758 00:35:39,083 --> 00:35:44,083 He also finds a worship shrine littered with wood fragments. 759 00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:46,167 So, Cornuke takes these rocks to be analyzed, 760 00:35:46,250 --> 00:35:48,333 and sure enough, it's petrified wood. 761 00:35:48,500 --> 00:35:52,250 He also claims to find fossilized clams, 762 00:35:52,375 --> 00:35:55,417 and to Cornuke, this is evidence 763 00:35:55,542 --> 00:35:58,708 of a great flood from a couple thousand years ago. 764 00:35:58,833 --> 00:36:01,500 LAURENCE: But not all of Cornuke's evidence 765 00:36:01,583 --> 00:36:03,167 can be proven. 766 00:36:03,292 --> 00:36:05,333 POLLY: Cornuke has the wood fragments dated, 767 00:36:05,458 --> 00:36:08,125 and they turn out to be only 500 years old, 768 00:36:08,208 --> 00:36:10,583 so they can't possibly be from Noah's Ark. 769 00:36:11,750 --> 00:36:13,750 MARTIN: Cornuke argues that these wood fragments 770 00:36:13,875 --> 00:36:15,708 most likely were just part 771 00:36:15,875 --> 00:36:17,167 of a shrine that was built 772 00:36:17,292 --> 00:36:18,958 and rebuilt basically 773 00:36:19,042 --> 00:36:20,667 commemorating this area 774 00:36:20,792 --> 00:36:22,417 of where the ark rested. 775 00:36:22,542 --> 00:36:24,542 He believes that people have been worshipping here 776 00:36:24,667 --> 00:36:27,167 ever since the Mesopotamian ark came here to rest 777 00:36:27,333 --> 00:36:29,333 after the great flood. 778 00:36:29,458 --> 00:36:32,375 DUSTIN: Further research is still ongoing at this site, 779 00:36:32,500 --> 00:36:35,500 and Cornuke hopes to one day be able to go back to Iran 780 00:36:35,583 --> 00:36:39,375 and pursue more evidence on his theory of Noah's Ark. 781 00:36:43,333 --> 00:36:44,708 LAURENCE: The search for evidence of Noah's Ark 782 00:36:44,833 --> 00:36:47,333 has crossed many countries in Europe, Asia, 783 00:36:47,417 --> 00:36:49,167 and the Middle East. 784 00:36:49,250 --> 00:36:51,083 But according to some theorists, 785 00:36:51,208 --> 00:36:53,542 that search may be fruitless. 786 00:36:53,708 --> 00:36:55,125 There are some compelling arguments 787 00:36:55,208 --> 00:36:56,500 for giant floods 788 00:36:56,583 --> 00:36:58,000 in several different regions, 789 00:36:58,167 --> 00:36:59,833 and in several different mythologies. 790 00:36:59,958 --> 00:37:01,667 But there are some academics 791 00:37:01,792 --> 00:37:03,375 who are not swayed by this evidence, 792 00:37:03,542 --> 00:37:05,250 because according to their own findings, 793 00:37:05,375 --> 00:37:07,042 the story of Noah 794 00:37:07,208 --> 00:37:08,792 and the Great Flood never happened. 795 00:37:12,375 --> 00:37:14,500 When William Ryan and Walter Pitman 796 00:37:14,667 --> 00:37:17,500 publish the Black Sea deluge theory back in 1997, 797 00:37:17,625 --> 00:37:20,500 which suggests Noah's Ark is based on a real-life flood 798 00:37:20,667 --> 00:37:22,875 in ancient Turkey and Armenia, critics come forward 799 00:37:23,042 --> 00:37:24,875 to suggest that maybe that flood 800 00:37:25,042 --> 00:37:26,708 isn't all it was cracked up to be. 801 00:37:26,833 --> 00:37:30,125 NICOLA: Most people would agree that something did happen. 802 00:37:30,208 --> 00:37:32,750 You can see geological evidence for it. 803 00:37:32,875 --> 00:37:35,417 But probably it wasn't cataclysmic. 804 00:37:35,542 --> 00:37:37,250 It could very well have been 805 00:37:37,375 --> 00:37:38,667 a change that took place 806 00:37:38,833 --> 00:37:40,792 over a much longer period of time. 807 00:37:40,917 --> 00:37:44,333 And if it really happened in around 8000 B.C. 808 00:37:44,458 --> 00:37:46,792 in the close of the ice age, it was really before 809 00:37:46,917 --> 00:37:49,750 any significant human activity in the area. 810 00:37:49,875 --> 00:37:51,792 SAMI: Regardless of when it occurred, 811 00:37:51,917 --> 00:37:53,292 some experts believe 812 00:37:53,417 --> 00:37:55,958 it was more of an inconvenience than a disaster. 813 00:37:56,042 --> 00:37:58,667 People could have just packed up and moved up the hill 814 00:37:58,750 --> 00:38:00,875 a little bit, and they'd have been fine. 815 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,792 LAURENCE: Some feel the same way about the ancient Greek flood. 816 00:38:04,917 --> 00:38:06,708 DUSTIN: The volcanic eruption on Thera 817 00:38:06,875 --> 00:38:08,667 most definitely destroyed that island 818 00:38:08,792 --> 00:38:10,500 and took a lot of people with it. 819 00:38:10,667 --> 00:38:13,708 But the after effects have been hotly debated. 820 00:38:13,833 --> 00:38:15,667 SAMI: There may be evidence of a destructive tsunami 821 00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:18,542 hitting nearby Crete, but others believe 822 00:38:18,708 --> 00:38:21,833 that destruction was due to an earthquake, not a flood. 823 00:38:21,958 --> 00:38:25,250 As for Mesopotamia, there was flooding there all the time. 824 00:38:25,375 --> 00:38:26,958 Flooding was a very necessary part 825 00:38:27,042 --> 00:38:28,583 of Mesopotamian cultures. 826 00:38:28,708 --> 00:38:31,792 The word Mesopotamia means "between the two rivers." 827 00:38:31,875 --> 00:38:33,708 It's actually this area that lies 828 00:38:33,875 --> 00:38:36,167 between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. 829 00:38:36,250 --> 00:38:39,167 And the point of being on that floodplain 830 00:38:39,333 --> 00:38:41,458 is that twice a year, 831 00:38:41,542 --> 00:38:44,833 these two rivers would overflow their banks. 832 00:38:44,917 --> 00:38:46,583 It was a necessary thing, 833 00:38:46,708 --> 00:38:49,208 because it would make the soil really fertile. 834 00:38:49,333 --> 00:38:52,250 ROBERT: So, flooding in a controlled manner 835 00:38:52,375 --> 00:38:54,000 was a regular part 836 00:38:54,125 --> 00:38:55,875 of the agricultural cycle. 837 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,458 But when the floods get out of control, 838 00:38:58,542 --> 00:39:02,458 when the levee breaks and destroys a city, 839 00:39:02,583 --> 00:39:05,917 to the people who are devastated by these floods, 840 00:39:06,042 --> 00:39:10,292 they see these as apocalyptic world-ending events. 841 00:39:10,375 --> 00:39:14,958 That can be true without the story 842 00:39:15,083 --> 00:39:17,583 of Noah's Ark being true. 843 00:39:17,708 --> 00:39:19,375 LAURENCE: Other parts of the story 844 00:39:19,542 --> 00:39:21,583 have been questioned as well. 845 00:39:21,708 --> 00:39:23,625 SAMI: So then, there's the thing 846 00:39:23,708 --> 00:39:25,958 about the animals, you know, two by two. 847 00:39:26,042 --> 00:39:28,833 This doesn't show up in every single flood myth, by the way, 848 00:39:28,917 --> 00:39:31,583 but as we know in the Bible, Noah saves two of every animal. 849 00:39:31,708 --> 00:39:33,750 And of course, this didn't happen. 850 00:39:33,875 --> 00:39:36,333 We have traced the genetic origins 851 00:39:36,458 --> 00:39:38,917 of, I don't know, thousands of species, 852 00:39:39,042 --> 00:39:42,875 and they simply didn't just all come from one place. 853 00:39:44,083 --> 00:39:47,458 ROBERT: If you put every species of animal on the ark, 854 00:39:47,583 --> 00:39:50,083 the ark as described in the Bible 855 00:39:50,208 --> 00:39:54,667 is nowhere large enough to hold all of these animals. 856 00:39:54,792 --> 00:39:57,167 And forget about the animals' excrement 857 00:39:57,333 --> 00:39:59,250 and the food for the animals. 858 00:39:59,375 --> 00:40:02,333 You need a lot of food every day. 859 00:40:02,458 --> 00:40:04,500 And so, this becomes the problem 860 00:40:04,625 --> 00:40:07,333 of a literal reading of the story of Noah's Ark. 861 00:40:07,458 --> 00:40:10,000 It just doesn't make any sense. 862 00:40:10,125 --> 00:40:13,375 LAURENCE: But there is at least one part of Noah's story 863 00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:16,208 that rings true to most. 864 00:40:16,333 --> 00:40:17,542 NICOLA: Ultimately, we have to think, 865 00:40:17,667 --> 00:40:19,125 what is the point of this story? 866 00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:21,500 Why do so many different cultures 867 00:40:21,583 --> 00:40:24,833 tell different variants of this kind of flood story? 868 00:40:24,917 --> 00:40:27,875 Because it makes the same point, all of them. 869 00:40:28,042 --> 00:40:31,167 It tells us that, again, as a species, 870 00:40:31,250 --> 00:40:33,458 what we do best is survive. 871 00:40:34,708 --> 00:40:36,667 SAMI: I'm pretty sure that at many points in history, 872 00:40:36,833 --> 00:40:39,500 a group of human beings put their heads together 873 00:40:39,625 --> 00:40:42,500 and figured out a way to endure a massive flood. 874 00:40:42,667 --> 00:40:45,292 It happened in 2004 in Indonesia. 875 00:40:45,375 --> 00:40:47,708 It happened in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina 876 00:40:47,833 --> 00:40:50,375 in New Orleans, and it certainly happened 877 00:40:50,542 --> 00:40:53,583 5,000 years ago, inspiring a story 878 00:40:53,708 --> 00:40:56,125 that we still tell to this day. 879 00:40:58,750 --> 00:41:00,667 One thing is for certain. 880 00:41:00,833 --> 00:41:03,500 The hunt for Noah's Ark continues. 881 00:41:03,667 --> 00:41:05,083 Perhaps Turkish authorities 882 00:41:05,208 --> 00:41:06,333 will find evidence 883 00:41:06,500 --> 00:41:08,125 on Mount Ararat. 884 00:41:08,250 --> 00:41:10,333 Perhaps Bob Cornuke will be able 885 00:41:10,500 --> 00:41:12,667 to make a return visit to Iran. 886 00:41:12,833 --> 00:41:15,875 And perhaps one day, science will find 887 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,542 definitive proof of the Bible's Great Flood 888 00:41:18,667 --> 00:41:20,208 and of the ark itself. 889 00:41:20,375 --> 00:41:22,292 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 890 00:41:22,375 --> 00:41:23,750 Thank you for watching 891 00:41:23,875 --> 00:41:26,500 "History's Greatest Mysteries."