In 1959, stereo photos where taken by a Turkish airline pilot of a boat shaped object on the mountains of Ararat for The Geodetic Institute of Turkey. Dr. Brandenburger of Ohio State University, USA, after studying the photographs concluded, "I have no doubt at all, that this object is a ship. In my entire career, I have never seen an object like this on a stereo photograph." Dr. Brandenburger was a photogrammetry expert who had discovered the missile bases in Cuba, during the Kennedy era.

An American team ran a day and a half expedition to the site, hardly enough time to carry out any scientific testing. They blew a hole in the side of the structure with dynamite, although some timber shaped stones were revealed, their conclusion was, "Nothing of any archaeological interest". If this object was Noah's Ark, it would be approximately 4400 years old so the wood would have petrified. So finding timber shaped stone was encouraging evidence. However, because the material had no growth rings, the team decided it could not be wood. But does this really prove true?The conditions of the world before the Biblical flood, were very different from now. The Bible says, "...for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth...But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground." (Gen 2: 5, 6). Growth rings in wood are caused by seasonal variations, so in a pre flood environment, with no seasonal variations, the trees would have no growth rings. And this is exactly what the American team found! In fact, if the material did have growth rings, it could not have been Noah's Ark.After seeing an article published in LIFE magazine covering the expedition, Ron Wyatt an amateur archaeologist, visited the site in 1977. His interest was aroused and he decided the structure deserved further investigation as to whether this could be Noah's Ark.

It lay 6,300 feet above sea level, much too high to be the remains of a boat from a local flood. It is over 200 miles from the nearest sea. The dimensions were consistent with the Biblical description of Noah's Ark in Gen. 6:15, measuring 300 cubits long. The width was greater than that mentioned in the Bible as the sides of the boat had splayed, which would be expected in a boat of that age.