They Drilled 60 Feet Into the ‘Ark.’ They Still Haven’t Hit Solid Rock.

For decades, the argument over the Durupınar formation was largely visual.

Look at it from above and it looks like a ship.

Measure it and its dimensions invite comparisons with the Ark described in Genesis.

Skeptics responded with an equally simple explanation:

It is rock.

A strange geological formation.

Nothing more.

But scientists working at Durupınar have now done something much harder to argue with than looking at photographs.

They drilled into it.

And according to researchers leading the investigation, some drilling reached approximately 20 meters—more than 60 feet—below the surface without encountering a continuous solid block of limestone or other bedrock beneath the formation.

That does not prove Noah’s Ark is there.

But it creates another question.

If Durupınar is simply one enormous natural rock structure, where is the enormous rock structure?

This Is Exactly Why They Went Deeper

The current investigation follows years of unusual readings at the site.

Researchers previously reported that soil taken from inside the boat-shaped formation contained substantially more organic material than comparison samples taken outside it, along with differences in potassium levels and pH. Those observations encouraged the team to stop looking only at the surface and investigate what was underneath.

This year they did.

For the first time, researchers performed extensive core drilling inside and outside the formation.

Fox News reports that the team reached depths greater than 60 feet in some locations and recovered material that is now undergoing laboratory testing for possible evidence of human activity or decayed wood.

The official university project provides an even clearer picture of the scale of the work.

Sivas Cumhuriyet University says the 2026 investigation collected 366 core and soil samples from approximately one to 15 meters beneath the site. Those samples were delivered to Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University for carbon-isotope analysis, age determination and examination for fossilized organic material, possible manufactured material and what researchers describe as cultural fill.

The university also says ground-penetrating radar examined geological layers down to approximately 70 meters, searching for anomalies, cavities, corridor-like features and structural patterns beneath Durupınar.

This is no longer somebody pointing at a mountain and saying, That looks like a boat.

Scientists are now mapping what is underneath it.

And the Rock Question Just Became Interesting

Durupınar skeptics have a serious argument behind them.

A widely cited 1996 geological study concluded the formation was natural rock rather than the remains of Noah’s Ark. That interpretation has remained one of the principal objections to Ark claims surrounding the site. Fox notes that researchers themselves acknowledge that history.

But Andrew Jones of the Noah’s Ark Research Project says this year’s drilling produced something his team did not expect from that explanation.

Researchers encountered boulders.

They encountered soil.

They encountered varying subsurface material.

But Jones says they did not find a consistent solid mass of rock beneath the formation.

That does not automatically invalidate the geological explanation. Geological formations can be complicated, fragmented and altered over enormous periods of time.

But it does justify another look.

And that is exactly what science should do.

If an old explanation does not perfectly match new evidence, investigate again.

Do not protect the theory.

Test it.

Christians Should Not Be Afraid of the Test

This is where this story becomes much more interesting than another archaeological mystery.

Christians already know what Genesis says.

Genesis 8:4 tells us that after the Flood, the Ark rested “upon the mountains of Ararat.”

Notice the wording.

Not necessarily the summit that modern maps call Mount Ararat.

The mountains of Ararat.

Durupınar sits within the broader eastern Turkish region historically associated with ancient Ararat.

Does that mean this particular formation must be Noah’s Ark?

No.

Scripture does not give us GPS coordinates.

And Christians should be careful not to turn every unusual discovery into instant biblical proof simply because we desperately want it to be true.

Our faith does not depend on Andrew Jones.

It does not depend on a laboratory in Ankara.

And it certainly does not depend on Fox News announcing that somebody found wood underground.

The Bible was Scripture before scientists drilled the first hole at Durupınar.

It will remain Scripture regardless of what these samples contain.

But that does not mean Christians cannot smile while science keeps digging.

Because Imagine What Happens If They Find Something

This is where the next phase becomes fascinating.

Finding organic material alone would not prove the Ark.

Soil contains organic material naturally.

Finding wood alone would not prove the Ark either.

Researchers would need to determine its age, distribution and context.

Is it ancient?

Was it brought there naturally?

Does it appear in organized layers?

Are there indications of construction?

Do independent laboratories confirm the results?

Could geology explain it more convincingly?

These are the questions that separate archaeology from excitement.

Jones himself acknowledges that the investigation has not reached its conclusion.

“We still have the lab work to do.”

That may be the most important statement in the entire story.

The Answers Are Now Sitting in Laboratories

Fieldwork for the 2026 season is finished.

The university says approximately 20 scientists and students from five countries participated in the project under official Turkish authorization. Its researchers used high-resolution mapping, LiDAR, GPS measurements, 3D modeling, radar and core drilling before sending hundreds of samples for analysis.

The broader evaluation is expected to continue into 2027.

And now Durupınar has reached a stage it has perhaps never reached before.

For generations, people argued about what the surface looked like.

Now scientists are asking what the ground itself contains.

Maybe the answer will ultimately vindicate the geological explanation.

Maybe researchers will find unusual ancient organic material but nothing resembling a manufactured structure.

Or perhaps the laboratory results will create questions nobody expected.

Christians do not need those results to make Genesis true.

But millions of people who would never ordinarily open a Bible are suddenly watching researchers drill into the mountains of Ararat searching for evidence connected to Noah.

That alone is remarkable.

For now, the samples are being tested.

The radar is being analyzed.

And after drilling more than 60 feet into the mystery, researchers say they still have not found the solid rock they expected.

The Ark has not been found.

But the old explanation may have just become considerably more interesting.