A ghostly shipwreck graveyard found thousands of feet below the Black Sea could help experts understand more about the puzzling conundrum of Noah’s Ark, archaeologists have reported.
Close to the coast of Nessebar, Bulgaria, there is a site composed of 60 shipwrecks almost completely preserved. These ships date back to 400BC and were discovered in 2016 at depths between 1000 feet and 6000 feet. The depth has so little oxygen that the decomposing process takes a lot longer than usual.
The Mystery of Noah’s Ark
Some specialists now believe that the ship graveyard could help solve one of the most ancient theories, which relates to Noah’s Ark depicted in the Bible.
Back in 2000, marine geologists William Ryan and Walter Pitman reported they discovered proof that the Black Sea was a small lake about 20,000 years ago and not the massive 436,000 square kilometer water body that is today.
However, as the end of the last Ice Age approached, which saw an end around 12,000 years ago, glaciers began to melt, making sea levels drastically rise, merging the small lake to the Aegean Sea.
The team of marine geologists believed they discovered proof of housing on the bottom of the Black Sea, which was, many years ago, dry land. They claimed this could also be a case of flooding like the one that happened in Noah’s time. The story of Noah and his ark claims that the Earth was flooded completely and instantly as a punishment from God to Man, as per the Bible.
No Evidence Whatsoever
Researchers from the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology (MAP) who studied the shipwreck say there is absolutely no evidence that the flooding was instant, but rather a slow process that happened because of the rising sea levels. Basically, MAP says this fact alone disagrees with Mr. Ryan, and Mr. Pitman’s hypothesis as instant flooding in the Black Sea is not the origin story of Noah’s Ark.
Maritime scientist Dr. Zdravka Georgieva said that the geophysicists and other experts from the oceanographic center in Southampton explain that there is no evidence whatsoever to support the theory.
“What we collected doesn’t prove this catastrophic flood. Data shows a more likely gradual sea level rising,” the expert said.
MAP will continue analyzing the shipwreck site.
