Claim CH504.1:
In 1876, English explorer James Bryce found a four-foot long
hand-tooled piece of wood on Ararat at the 13,000 feet level.
Source:
LaHaye, Tim and John Morris, 1976. The Ark on Ararat, Nashville: Thomas
Nelson Inc. and Creation Life Publishers, pp. 51-55.
Response:
- The wood Bryce found may well be from a source other than the Ark.
Wood has repeatedly been carried up Ararat in historical times [Bailey
1989, 105].
- In 1829, Friedrich Parrot carried up two heavy crosses, five feet
and ten feet long, which he erected at the summit and at 16,000
feet, respectively.
- In 1845, Hermann von Abich placed a seven-foot cross high on
the west slope.
- In 1859, Russian Colonel J. Khodzko erected a seven-foot cross on
the summit.
- Several large structures and various huts have also been built on
the mountain.
Bryce himself wrote, "I am, however, bound to admit that another
explanation of the presence of this piece of timber . . . did occur to
me. But as no man is bound to discredit his own relic, . . . I will
not disturb my readers' minds, or yield to the rationalizing
tendencies of the age by suggesting it." [quoted in Bailey 1989, 84].
References:
- Bailey, Lloyd, 1989. Noah: The Person and the Story in History and
Tradition. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
created 2003-5-7
