Wednesday, 13 September, 2000, 14:15 GMT 15:15 UK
Bible 'clue' found
Scientists have uncovered ancient ruins under the Black Sea indicating that people lived in the area before a cataclysmic flood.
Some scientists have linked the 7,000-year-old event, thought to have been caused by waters bursting through from the Mediterranean Sea, to the Biblical story of Noah.
The American team of explorers said this "major" find off the Turkish
shore could see history being rewritten and debate revived over the
biblical Ark.
"This is an incredible find," said American explorer Dr Robert
Ballard, adding this was far more significant a find than his
discovery of the Titanic in 1985.
The team, sponsored by National Geographic, found a rectangular
structure, possibly a building, with wooden beam, branches and stone tools lying 90 metres under the sea, of the coast from Sinop.
"It's clear a vast amount of real estate is under water and a vast
amount of people were living [here]," Dr Ballard said.
The structure - dated to the Neolithic Bronze Age of 7,000 years ago - was described as the "Pompeii of landscapes" by the team's chief archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert.
"This is a major discovery that will begin to rewrite the history of
cultures in this key area between Europe, Asia and the ancient Middle East," he said.
Noah's Ark theories
Scientists believe the Black Sea was previously a smaller freshwater lake that was flooded by the Mediterranean Sea 7,000 years ago, when European glaciers melted.
In 1997, two geologists from Columbia University published a book
arguing that Noah's Flood took place around the Black Sea, not the
Middle East.
Dr Ballard said, however, it was too early to make a link with the
Black Sea's flood and the Biblical story of Noah.
"What we are trying to do is gather facts," he said. "We are testing
that theory and so far we have not found any holes in it."
Many ancient Middle Eastern cultures also have legends of a great
flood.
The team left the relics untouched and captured sonar pictures taken by a mobile machine called Argus.
Dr Ballard said the wood had been preserved to an unusual degree
because of the Black Sea's deep, oxygen-free waters.
The team hope to do precise mapping and photo documentation as well as recover human remains for DNA studies to learn more about the ancestry of the people.
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