An ancient underwater city discovered beneath Turkey's Lake Van may challenge the origins of the biblical story of Noah's Ark. The sprawling ruins, located 85 feet below the surface near the town of Gevaş, lie just 150 miles from Mount Ararat, traditionally believed to be the resting place of Noah's Ark.
Geological evidence suggests the ruins were submerged 12,000 to 14,500 years ago after a volcanic eruption from Mount Nemrut blocked the Mirat River, causing massive flooding during the Younger Dryas period. Independent researchers believe this disaster may have wiped out an advanced civilisation, inspiring early versions of the Great Flood story.
Independent researcher Matt LaCroix, who spoke on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast, said: 'As far as I'm aware, any civilisations in the last 6,000 years did not have the technological means to create the type of stonework we're seeing here.' LaCroix and an international dive team plan to explore the site in September using advanced imaging tools.
The underwater complex spans over half a mile and includes a stone fortress, circular temples with precisely carved masonry, and a capstone engraved with a six-spoked 'Flower of Life' symbol, also found at sacred sites in Peru and Bolivia. The site was discovered in 1997 by Turkish underwater filmmaker Tossen Salin.
While mainstream archaeologists attribute the ruins to the Urartian period around 3,000 years ago or the medieval era, LaCroix argues that soil sampling and analysis of Mount Nemrut show evidence of a massive eruption around 12,000 years ago, raising Lake Van's water level by over 100 feet. Researchers hope to find organic material to confirm the age, but collecting such evidence underwater poses major challenges.
