The "Boat" That Keeps Being Discovered: On the Perpetual Fascination with Durupınar

Since attracting international attention in 1959, Turkey's boat-shaped Durupınar formation has inspired expeditions and fantastic claims that Noah's ark has been found. Geological investigations have repeatedly identified the rock formation as a perfectly natural one, yet ongoing speculation frequently returns it to the headlines. This paper traces fascination with this formation from the first expedition in 1960 through Ron Wyatt's promotion of the site to the more recent efforts of Noah's Ark Scans and involving scanning and drilling technologies. It asks how religious belief and institutional affiliations make familiar misinformation seem credible, and why the actual evidence ultimately fails to convince certain groups. Durupınar offers a case study in the persistence and circulation of archaeological misinformation, the enduring desire to "prove" the biblical past, and the rhetorical strategies that make each successive "discovery" seem more and more persuasive.

Eric Vanden Eykel is Dean of Faculty and Associate Professor of Religion at Ferrum College in Virginia, where he also coordinates Religious Studies. His scholarship examines early Christianity, biblical interpretation, and the reception of biblical figures and traditions.

His work includes studies of the Magi and early Christian literature, as well as collaborative research on the use of Christian texts in anti-Jewish interpretation. He also writes for public audiences about biblical interpretation and claims concerning the biblical past.