After scientists recently claimed to locate Noah's Ark, an unearthed CIA document reveals that the agency knew where the Biblical ship has been for over 50 years.
A four-page report known as 'Report Re: Noah's Ark' details how the CIA secretly searched for the Ark's location for nearly a decade, hoping to prove the legend true.
According to the Bible, God commanded Noah to build a vast ship, the Ark, capable of saving himself, his family, and a pair of each of the world's animals from a Great Flood that wiped out all living things on Earth.
While Noah's story is known worldwide, no evidence of Ark has ever been found.
Scientists this month declared that a boat-shaped mound 18 miles south of Mount Ararat in Turkey is actually the fossilized remains of a massive vessel.
Soil samples showed traces of clay-like materials, marine deposits, and ancient remnants of marine life dating back to the time of Noah. The team also suggested that the findings showed human activities in around Mt Ararat.
The CIA file, declassified in 2002, appears to reveal that the US intelligence community has had their eyes on this exact spot since 1957.
The agency investigated Mt Ararat from 1974 to 1982 using images from satellites and spy planes after the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) requested for any evidence of the Ark sitting at the site.
The CIA papers details how requests to track down the Ark came from multiple individuals within the US government.
DCI William Colby, who headed the CIA from 1973 to 1976, was ordered to develop and advanced technology looking for satellite photography of Mt Ararat in 1974.
The request came from Lt. Col. Walter Brown, a high ranking officials in the US Air Force, who was on a mission to determine 'whether any evidence of the Ark could be found.'
The reason the Air Force was interested in Noah's Ark was not given.
That set the hunt in motion. A U-2 spy plane was deployed to take images over Mt Ararat.
Satellites were also moved above the area to 'examine the glacier systems there to see whether any evidence of the Ark could be found,' the report states.
When intelligence officials inquired about the available information, they were told the aerial photography produced 'negative results.'
However, Colby's request wouldn't be the last one the department would receive.
Over the next eight years, the CIA documented 10 more requests from high-profile individuals with ties to the government about Mt Ararat and Noah's Ark.
This included members of Congress, a former astronaut, and several officials from the DCI's Intelligence Community Staff.
In every instance, the CIA said that they had no evidence that Noah's Ark was located at the site on Mt Ararat.
In a 1994 memo, the CIA revealed that they were continuing to shut down Freedom of Information Act requests for pictures of Mt Ararat, adding that the agency had 'no efforts currently underway either to review other records or conduct additional searches for Noah's Ark.'
However, the latest work by researchers combing the area for signs of the Ark discovered a much different story.
This includes evidence that the mound really did experience a devastating flood 5,000 years ago.
Since 2021, scientists from Istanbul Technical University, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, and Andrews University in Michigan have been studying the site as part of the Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark Research Team.
During the 7th International Symposium on Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark in 2023, researchers presented new evidence that could support their theory that the Durupinar Formation is an ancient ship.
The team took 30 samples of soil and rock from around the structure and sent them to the Istanbul Technical University for analysis.
Dating these samples uncovered that they were between 3,500 and 5,000 years-old - falling in line with the biblical account of the great flood Noah built his ship to survive.
According to literal interpretations of the Bible, the world was covered with water during the Chalcolithic period - a time stretching from 5500 to 3000 BC.
Despite claiming that there was no evidence of Noah's Ark at the site, these CIA repeatedly denied access to the surveillance photos, saying that the images were classified.
In each request, intelligence officials only mentioned the spy plane photos from 1957 and satellite photos from the initial 1974 query by DCI Colby.
It's not clear if the US government ever gathered more images of the area around Mt Ararat after 1974 - or if they had already seen everything they needed to by that time.
The Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark Research Team insist that more study is needed and confirm that the structure discovered in Turkey is truly Noah's Ark.
As for the CIA, what they knew or didn't know 50 years ago is still a mystery, at least for now.
