The Path to Noah’s Ark
In 1882, the British Museum acquired an ancient clay tablet that appeared to be a map. This clay map with several inscriptions was found in the Middle East and described the route of a potential journey from Babylon to see Noah’s Ark. The well-known author Jonathan Cahn posted this article by Brooke Steinberg concerning this clay map to his Facebook account.[1] The map is purported to be over 3000 years old.
Historians have been trying to decipher and translate the instructions and images on the map in recent years. Steinberg writes, “Another passage is believed to show a path and instructions to get to “Urartu,” a place believed to be where a man and his family landed a gigantic ark they made, according to ancient Mesopotamian poems — more commonly referred to as Noah’s Ark.”[2]
What is known as modern-day Turkey was once an area known as Urartu.[3] This term, Urartu, is what the Babylonians called what the Bible calls Mount Ararat. Look at any Middle Eastern map, and you will notice that Mount Ararat is about 750 miles north of Babylon.[4]
The clay map is known as the “Babylonian Map of the World” and includes a description of the Babylonian’s understanding of the creation of the world, provides descriptions of 17 animals, and also offers the name of the man who survived the great flood calling him “Utnapištim.”[5]
The Babylonian Map of the World describes things to look for along the way and offers a matter-of-fact perspective to the traveler finding a large boat at the end of the journey. The idea that the writer of the clay map knew about this boat and was describing the route to get there suggests that what we know today as Noah’s Ark was common knowledge, not only for the Hebrews but also for the Babylonians.[6]
This discovery is significant because it offers further evidence of what the Bible-believing Christian has known all along – God told Noah to build an ark to rescue his family from the world’s first and only global flood.
Genesis 6 tells the biblical, historical account of this event. Read this and ask, what, who, where, and why?
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” (Genesis 6:11–22)
Following the 150-day boat ride, Noah and his family inside the ark landed in the Mountains of Ararat. “And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4). What was this event? It was judgment. Who was involved? All the people of the earth, Noah, his family, and God. Why a flood? The sins of the people were violent, bloody, and immoral. So God gives Noah instructions. Noah believed and obeyed God.
God rescued His people from judgment. Noah delivered his family because of faith in God. Today, Christians have the same faith in the resurrected Jesus, who came to earth to deliver us from our sins. The ark of deliverance is Jesus Himself.
Many people have searched for Noah’s Ark for centuries. On this Babylonian Map of the World, we have further validation and directions on how to get there according to their ancient world. Today, the Turkish government rarely permits searches for Noah’s Ark. Many places researchers want to go are restricted as their military controls it. It appears the most recent search was conducted in 1974, with Doctor John Morris and several others searching.[7] I do not believe anyone in recent years has discovered this ark. It would be fascinating to visit and explore the restricted areas.
However, there is an ark in Northern Kentucky called the “Ark Encounter.[8]” Visitors can plan to spend a few days at this site exploring the built-to-biblical scale ark and learning about the biblical account of Noah’s Flood. I encourage you to visit there as soon as you can.
Please see our Recommended Ministry Page for more information about the Ark Encounter.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheBIBLEtheSourceOfLife/posts/d41d8cd9/8805181499570857/?mibextid=K35XfP&rdid=MXBpUHpPLkOfEZ07&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F19mtwDZESr%2F%3Fmibextid%3DK35XfP#
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urartu.
[4] https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Babylon+Governorate,+Iraq/Mount+Ararat/@35.9780116,38.3001119,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x155857e55425dcb9:0x138d1ca648ae5972!2m2!1d44.5501935!2d32.468191!1m5!1m1!1s0x4014d232638342ad:0xaaa6fa54b6b1247c!2m2!1d44.2990761!2d39.7024393!3e0?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_Map_of_the_World.
[6] https://nypost.com/2024/10/29/science/noahs-ark-location-found-on-3000-year-old-map-dating-3000-years-ago-scientists-claim/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0ryNLs1DWIo9XkYiisL61dsWJusdGyYUkDkSoaqaoipUKuhg4-F8CAbk0_aem_cz5Iakf8pSm0E9CoXL9ZeA.
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/1974/01/14/archives/turk-sanction-reported-for-noahs-ark-search-area-is-militarized.html.
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