31 NOVEMBER 2026 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Core Drilling Begins at Potential Noah’s Ark Site Adapted from Information by Globe Newswire An international team of researchers, scientists, geologists, and archaeologists from Noah’s Ark Scans, in partnership with Turkish universities, have started collecting core samples from the Durupinar Formation at depths of up to about 60 feet. They are preparing to explore what many believe is the biblical Noah’s Ark. The Durupinar Formation is a 515-foot boat-shaped feature first identified in 1959 by Turkish Army Captain İlhan Durupinar. For more than six decades, researchers have debated whether the outline is a natural landform or the buried remains of a large wooden vessel. Until now, work at the site has been limited to primarily surface observation, photography, and geophysical scanning. Back in 1988, there was an attempt to conduct sampling, however, the core samples were ultimately contaminated by the water used to cool the drill bit. This expedition is the first program authorized to carry out nondestructive, permitted scientific investigations including deep core recovery inside and outside the formation. First, the team will collect continuous cores for laboratory analysis, including compositional, organic, and stratigraphic testing. Second, researchers plan to send a custom-built GOPHER exploration drone into the voids, tunnels, and corridors previously mapped by ground-penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography, and related surveys. GOPHER, named for the “gopher wood” of Genesis, is equipped with a high-resolution camera, designed to enter narrow borehole access points without opening large excavation trenches. Professor Dr. Atila, President of the research project and a faculty member in the Department of Archaeology at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, is directing the Turkish scientific program. Andrew Jones, Vice President of the Noah’s Ark Research Project and founder of Noah’s Ark Scans, is leading the international field collaboration. Noah’s Ark Scans is an international research initiative investigating the formation. “For the first time in history, we are performing an extensive, permitted deep core drilling survey inside and outside the Durupinar Noah’s Ark site, recovering samples from depths of up to . . . nearly 60 feet. We have so far recovered layers of rich organic material that we believe could be the decayed top tier remains of the Ark. We are encountering multiple cavities, including one filled with mud and water. No bedrock or solid limestone has so far been identified in the holes drilled inside the formation. These current findings challenge claims that this is simply a natural shape made of limestone or bedrock. “In one of the holes drilled inside the boat, approximately [13-16 feet] below the surface, the drilling system had already penetrated the overlying material, but at this layer, the operation stopped as we struck a layer so hard that the drill bit broke. Petrified or highly mineralized wood are both a possibility we want to investigate through third party lab testing,” said Jones. Percussion core drilling is used to penetrate limestone and many rock types; the dry drilling system used in this project operates without drilling fluids, using mechanical impact and drilling force to advance through resistant subsurface materials like limestone. Although percussion drilling systems are capable of penetrating both unconsolidated material and competent rock, typical petrified wood is substantially harder than limestone, and harder than most types of bedrock. “Whatever the core drill struck was harder than limestone - hard enough to break the bit,” Jones continued. “This is a major breakthrough in our ability to investigate what lies beneath this remarkable site. We are now collecting physical samples for laboratory analysis, with more fieldwork planned next year. This first season by our international team has opened an entirely new chapter in the Noah’s Ark investigation.” Earlier scans identified linear features, right-angle intersections, layered anomalies, and elongated voids interpreted by the team as possible corridors and chamber-like spaces. “I believe this is Noah’s Ark, that’s why I’m putting the Durupinar site through the most rigorous testing possible,” Jones explained. Core holes were placed within the boat-shaped outline and in control locations beyond it so laboratory results can be compared against the surrounding mountainside. According to the expedition, cores recovered to date include sequences of soil and sediment, intervals of organic-rich material, and cavities. One cavity continued to collect and fill up with water as the team drilled, the water kept retaining within that same cavity or “room”. “Once the detailed soil analyses are completed, we expect to obtain important additional information that may bring us closer to understanding the true nature of the site,” said Atilia. Noah’s Ark Scans said the 2026 study marks a shift from remote sensing alone to physical evidence in hand. They will continue to publish updates as laboratory results come in over the next few months. No other study in the history of the site has operated under official permits and with University oversight. The Durupinar Formation.
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