Psueodoarchaeology: Noah’s Ark Update

Jennifer Wilson of The Gazette, a Colorado Springs, CO newspaper, reports that Bob Cornuke, the "discoverer" of the Noah’s Ark site I wrote about in a previous post, is a resident of the Colorado Springs area.

Nothing new is reported about Cornuke’s "discoveries" or the alleged analyses that were supposed to be done on the rocks he claimed were "petrified wood."

From the article:

Bob Cornuke doesn’t have a degree in archaeology; he holds a doctorate in Bible and theology from Louisiana Baptist University. He says the skills he learned as a crime scene investigator in California aid his expeditions.

“I learned investigative skills, and I now use those same investigative skills in researching the Bible,” Cornuke said. “We also use the Bible as a road map and a compass. We use it as a historical guide.”

With his skills, I’d say the efficiency of California criminal investigation probably improved a bit since his departure. If, that is, he was actually a crime scene investigator.

In the words of a friend:

I actually find it extremely humorous that, though they claim in some news reports to have had geologists on their team, some laboratory had to tell them they had petrified wood. It’s not exactly a difficult thing to identify! I have no idea what they sent to the mystery lab, but just the total lack of any geological knowledge is quite humorous.

But Cornuke has searched for other biblical sites, too.

Over the years, Cornuke’s 29 expeditions have taken him to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Israel and Egypt. He’s searched for Mount Sinai and the shipwreck of St. Paul. He’s filled the pages of three passports with stamps.

And not a shred of evidence to support any of the biblical mythology he sought to confirm? I wonder if I could get some archaeological funding that would let me travel the Near East with loose research goals and no eventual results?

"The reason this is huge news, is that people were confronted with the ‘what if’ – what if this is true? What if this is Noah’s Ark, what does that mean? Man, I have to accept the whole Bible," Cornuke said.

Is, then, the obverse of this argument also true? When this turns out to be yet another crackpot ark claim, does it finally prove the bible to be mythology?

About Carl Feagans 396 Articles
Professional archaeologist that currently works for the United States Forest Service at the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee. I'm also a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Army and spent another 10 years doing adventure programming with at-risk teens before earning my master's degree at the University of Texas at Arlington.

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