Famous underwater archaeologist, Robert Ballard believes he’s “found proof that the biblical flood was actually based on real events.” He’s appearing on this show:
Tune in to Christiane Amanpour’s two-part ABC News special, “Back to the Beginning,” which explores the history of the Bible from Genesis to Jesus. Part one airs on Friday, Dec. 21 and part two on Friday, Dec. 28, both starting at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. See photos from her journey HERE
If you don’t recall who Ballard is, he’s the person who discovered the final resting place of Titanic, Bismark, Lusitania, and is now exploring the Black Sea.
Now Ballard is using even more advanced robotic technology to travel farther back in time. He is on a marine archeological mission that might support the story of Noah. He said some 12,000 years ago, much of the world was covered in ice.
Here’s how he explains the possibility of a Noah flood:
“Where I live in Connecticut was ice a mile above my house, all the way back to the North Pole, about 15 million kilometers, that’s a big ice cube,” he said. “But then it started to melt. We’re talking about the floods of our living history.”
The water from the melting glaciers began to rush toward the world’s oceans, Ballard said, causing floods all around the world.
“The questions is, was there a mother of all floods,” Ballard said.
According to a controversial theory proposed by two Columbia University scientists, there really was one in the Black Sea region. They believe that the now-salty Black Sea was once an isolated freshwater lake surrounded by farmland, until it was flooded by an enormous wall of water from the rising Mediterranean Sea. The force of the water was two hundred times that of Niagara Falls, sweeping away everything in its path.
Ballard has found evidence of a flood in the region.
Four hundred feet below the surface, they unearthed an ancient shoreline, proof to Ballard that a catastrophic event did happen in the Black Sea. By carbon dating shells found along the shoreline, Ballard said he believes they have established a timeline for that catastrophic event, which he estimates happened around 5,000 BC. Some experts believe this was around the time when Noah’s flood could have occurred.
“It probably was a bad day,” Ballard said. “At some magic moment, it broke through and flooded this place violently, and a lot of real estate, 150,000 square kilometers of land, went under.”
Personally, I’d be surprised to discover an area on this planet that hasn’t experienced a flood sometime during its history. I’m not sure what the big deal is… but I could be wrong. After all, I’m not an archaeologist.
Catastrophic events of this kind are not unique to the Bible. Some contemporary examples include the 2004 tsunami that wiped out villages on the coasts of 11 countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. There was also Hurricane Katrina, described as the worst hurricane in United States history.
Scholars aren’t sure if the biblical flood was larger or smaller than these modern day disasters, but they do think the experiences of people in ancient times were similar to our own.
There seems to be some discussion about his latest expedition.
Back in the Black Sea, Ballard said he is aware that not everyone agrees with his conclusions about the time and size of the flood, but he’s confident he’s on the path to finding something from the biblical period.
“We started finding structures that looked like they were man-made structures,” Ballard said. “That’s where we are focusing our attention right now.”
When asked if anyone will find Noah’s ark, Ballard says:
Ballard does not think he will ever find Noah’s Ark, but he does think he may find evidence of a people whose entire world was washed away about 7,000 years ago. He and his team said they plan to return to Turkey next summer.
“It’s foolish to think you will ever find a ship,” Ballard said, referring to the Ark. “But can you find people who were living? Can you find their villages that are underwater now? And the answer is yes.”
I’ll be the first to admit this is a rather odd story, I can’t help but wonder if this angle is simply spin. Back when I was a church goer, the “flood” was a supposed global event. Ballard appears to be focusing his attention on a local phenomenon, contrary to many bible reader’s beliefs. The mere fact that there was a flood at one time, in that particular region doesn’t mean it was “Noah”s flood.”
I’m perplexed, but thought I’d share anyway.
