A new video released by a team investigating the possible remains of Noah’s Ark shows a small drone traveling through an opening inside Turkey’s famous Durupınar Formation, a boat-shaped geological structure that has attracted Ark hunters for decades.
The footage was released by Noah’s Ark Scans as researchers continue drilling and surveying the roughly 515-foot (157-meter) formation near Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey. The team says its early radar and drilling results do not support the idea that the entire structure is simply solid rock.
But the footage does not establish that the formation is Noah’s Ark. No archaeological evidence has yet been independently verified as belonging to the biblical vessel, and previous geological research has concluded that the formation is a natural geological structure.
That distinction is central to the latest investigation.
What does the new Noah’s Ark video show?
Noah’s Ark Scans said it sent a small vehicle known as the “Gopher” drone through one of the holes created during core drilling.
The team described the footage as a “first look” inside the formation and said the drone was being used to reach voids identified during earlier subsurface surveys.
According to the researchers, the drone encountered loose sediment on the floor, making it difficult for its wheels to move and limiting its ability to inspect the surrounding area.
The team said the drone will require modifications before it can maneuver more effectively inside the suspected voids.
Suggested visual: Add the newly released drone footage here, accompanied by a simple graphic showing how the drilling holes connect to the suspected subsurface voids.
What did the researchers claim to find?
The researchers say preliminary radar scans have not produced what they describe as a straightforward, homogeneous solid-rock signature.
They also claim that drilling has so far failed to identify bedrock or solid limestone in the holes examined. Noah’s Ark Scans said core samples have been collected from depths of up to about 60 feet, or 18 meters.
Andrew Jones, founder of Noah’s Ark Scans, has argued that the results warrant further scientific testing rather than simply assuming that the formation is natural.
The team says it has recovered layers containing organic material and plans to subject samples to laboratory analysis. Until that testing is completed and independently assessed, however, the material cannot be identified as remnants of a wooden vessel.
Where is the Durupınar Formation?
The Durupınar Formation is located near the village of Üzengili in Ağrı Province, southeastern Turkey, in the broader Mount Ararat region.
It was identified in aerial reconnaissance in 1959 by Turkish army captain İlhan Durupınar. Its unusual elongated shape, which resembles the outline of a large boat, subsequently made it a focus of speculation about Noah’s Ark. The formation is approximately 157 meters, or 515 feet, long.
The resemblance to a ship is one reason the site has remained popular among Ark researchers and religious visitors.
However, shape alone cannot establish what created a geological formation.
Why is the site associated with Noah’s Ark?
The connection comes primarily from the biblical account of the Flood.
In Genesis 8:4, the Bible says that after the floodwaters receded, the Ark came to rest “on the mountains of Ararat.”
That wording is important because the text refers to the “mountains of Ararat,” rather than explicitly naming the modern summit of Mount Ararat or identifying the Durupınar Formation.
Over time, the Ararat region became associated with searches for the biblical vessel. The boat-like appearance of Durupınar later strengthened claims that it could be the location described in Genesis.
For believers, the possibility is significant because finding preserved remains could potentially provide physical evidence connected to one of the best-known flood narratives in religious history.
For archaeologists and geologists, however, establishing such a connection would require considerably more than a boat-shaped landscape or unusual underground radar readings.
What does the scientific evidence say?
The geological interpretation of the Durupınar Formation has been disputed for decades, but published geological research has previously argued that it is a natural formation.
A 1996 paper by geologists Lorence G. Collins and David Franklin Fasold concluded that features previously interpreted as evidence of a vessel could instead be explained by natural geological processes. The study described the structure as a natural rock formation and challenged interpretations involving supposed metal fittings, fossilized wood and other alleged Ark-related material.
That earlier research is significant because it means the current investigation is not starting from a scientific consensus that the site is an ancient ship.
Instead, the new project is testing competing interpretations of the formation.
What the new research is actually testing
The current expedition is using several forms of investigation, including:
- Ground-penetrating radar and other geophysical surveys
- Electrical resistivity and subsurface mapping
- Core drilling
- Collection and analysis of geological samples
- Drone-based documentation
- Robotic inspection of suspected underground spaces
Noah’s Ark Scans says its 2026 project has received official authorization in Turkey and is directed by archaeologist Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University.
The project’s stated approach is to collect measurable geological and archaeological evidence rather than authenticate the biblical story in advance.
That distinction matters. A scientific investigation can determine whether the formation contains unusual structures or materials without automatically establishing that those features belong to Noah’s Ark.
Why does the “no bedrock” claim matter?
The team’s claim about bedrock is potentially important to its geological argument, but it is not by itself evidence of a ship.
If a large portion of the formation were shown to contain cavities, sediments, unusual layers or structures inconsistent with the expected geology, researchers would have to determine what produced them.
Possible explanations would still need to be tested against the geological history of the region.
Likewise, organic material recovered from a drill core would need to be identified and dated. Finding organic matter does not automatically mean finding ancient wood, much less wood from a vessel associated with Noah.
Laboratory testing could therefore be more significant than the drone footage itself.
What happens next?
The researchers are expected to continue drilling and investigating the suspected voids beneath the formation.
The core samples will be particularly important. According to the team, samples have been recovered from depths reaching approximately 18 meters and will undergo further analysis.
The researchers have said laboratory results will help determine the nature and age of the material recovered from beneath the formation.
The Gopher drone could also provide additional information if it can be modified to navigate the loose sediment and inspect the suspected spaces more effectively.
For now, the investigation remains unfinished.
Does the video prove Noah’s Ark is inside the formation?
No.
The footage shows a drone entering an opening associated with the drilling operation. It does not independently establish that the surrounding structure is an ancient boat, that the opening is part of a ship’s interior, or that any material inside dates to the period traditionally associated with Noah.
Even the researchers leading the project describe the findings as preliminary.
Noah’s Ark Scans itself says its work is focused on geophysical documentation and that the project does not authenticate historical or religious claims.
That caveat is important as images from the site circulate online.
A dark underground passage can look like a corridor. An elongated geological structure can look like a hull. Radar anomalies can resemble organized structures. But each interpretation needs to be tested against physical samples, geological evidence and independent analysis.
Why the investigation continues to attract attention
The Durupınar Formation sits at the intersection of religion, archaeology and geology.
The biblical account provides the story that motivates the search. The unusual shape of the formation provides the visual mystery. Modern scanning, drilling and robotics now offer researchers tools that earlier investigators did not have.
The latest video therefore represents another step in an ongoing investigation, rather than a final discovery.
If laboratory analysis identifies unusual materials and establishes their age and origin, the findings could give researchers new questions to investigate. If the samples instead match the expected geology of the region, that would provide additional evidence for the natural-formation explanation.
Either way, the crucial evidence will come from testing—not from the shape of the formation or the dramatic appearance of footage captured underground.
For now, the Durupınar Formation remains a disputed site, and the claim that it contains Noah’s Ark remains unproven.
TL;DR
- A research team investigating Turkey’s Durupınar Formation has released footage from a small “Gopher” drone sent through a drilling hole.
- The team says radar and preliminary drilling have not identified simple solid bedrock throughout the structure.
- Researchers are collecting core samples from depths of up to about 60 feet (18 meters).
- The formation is approximately 515 feet (157 meters) long and has been linked by some researchers and religious groups to Noah’s Ark.
- Previous geological research has concluded that the formation can be explained as a natural geological structure.
- The new drone footage does not prove that Noah’s Ark has been found.
- Laboratory analysis of recovered material and independent scientific review will be critical to evaluating the latest claims.
