Thanks to the CSI-like exploits of a space-based Indiana Jones, a new
age of discovery through high-resolution satellite archaeology was born
when GeoEye’s IKONOS satellite zoomed in on the ice cap of a remote
mountain in northeastern Turkey on Oct. 5, 1999, during its calibration
mission. IKONOS, the world’s first commercial imaging satellite with
1-meter resolution, was in hot pursuit of solving an enduring ancient
mystery—whether an intriguing, boat-shaped “object” partially submerged
under the mountain’s ice cap might be something of biblical proportions.
Indeed, Mt. Ararat is not your typical mountain. For thousands of years
it has been reputed to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark. According to
the book of Genesis, the Ark landed on “the mountains of Ararat” after a
global deluge.
Subsequent to its calibration mission, IKONOS flew three more successful
missions over the Ararat Anomaly in 2000: Aug. 5, Aug. 11 and Sept. 13.
The June-September timeframe is the best time to image Mt. Ararat
because summer is generally when the greatest amount of melting of the
ice cap occurs. Building upon the satellite archaeology foundation begun
in 1999, IKONOS flew its most recent mission over the Anomaly in July
2005. My analysis of these missions might provide a window into the
future of satellite archaeology and intriguing details as to whether the
1,015-foot-long “object” at 15,300 feet on the northwest corner of Mt.
Ararat’s western plateau might be the remains of a priceless
archaeological treasure.
An Able Explorer
As a technological threshold, it’s important to note that IKONOS is
superior to ground expeditions in two important aspects. Mt. Ararat’s
17-square-mile ice cap (as deep as 300 feet of ice and snow in some
places) and often thick cloud cover would pose a daunting task for a
ground expedition to cover that much ground in search of a specific
“object.” It would take perhaps dozens of ground expeditions over
several years to cover every square foot of the ice cap. Additionally,
given the past geopolitical volatility of the Ararat area—a proverbial
stone’s throw from Iran and the former Soviet Union’s border—and the
difficulty of obtaining a permit for a private expedition from the
Turkish government, actually climbing Mt. Ararat is difficult at best.
Imaging the entire ice cap on Mt. Ararat and
dozens of square miles around the mountain in one easy satellite
swath at 1-meter resolution, IKONOS began rewriting the satellite
archaeology playbook in October 1999. Until then, no commercial
satellite had the camera capability of imaging an exact spot on Mt.
Ararat with any appreciable degree of photographic clarity to
determine if this Titanic-shaped and -sized “object” might be
manmade.
IKONOS’ maiden flight in 1999 over Ararat constitutes the
satellite’s first use as an archaeological tool. This introduces us
to the first advantage of IKONOS over a ground expedition: broad,
high-resolution imaging coverage of the entire mountain. Any
anomalous “objects” anywhere on the mountain can be quickly
discerned and analyzed by the well-trained eyes of satellite imagery
analysts. In 1999, IKONOS began to rapidly strip away the veil of
mystery and secrecy surrounding Mt. Ararat.
Having no need to obtain a space-based expedition permit from the
Turkish government or to be concerned about any geopolitical
sensitivity with respect to Mt. Ararat’s triangulated location at
the Turkish-Iranian-Armenian geographic corridor, IKONOS facilely
demonstrated its second technological advantage over a ground
expedition. At amazing speed, 17,000 miles per hour, this
space-based “bird” zoomed in on the coordinates of the “object of
interest” with clear, crisp imagery. Without even leaving the
comfort of their PCs, members of my imagery analysis team around the
United States were able to “walk” around the ice cap on Mt. Ararat
in cyberspace.
IKONOS’ 1999 calibration mission seemed to
confirm that the Ararat Anomaly had the same ship-like features of
the “object” in four declassified aerial photos taken by a U.S. Air
Force plane on a low-level reconnaissance mission on June 17, 1949.
The plane was flying parallel to Mt. Ararat at 14,000 feet. In 1995,
I successfully solicited the Defense Intelligence Agency to release
these aerial photos to me under the Freedom of Information Act. This
was the first milestone in my satellite archaeology project, because
it was the first time that the intelligence community had ever
officially released any photographs of Mt. Ararat into the public
domain.
What hints did the IKONOS 1999 imagery and the 1949 aerial photos
give of “ship-like features” in the Ararat Anomaly? On the north end
of the Anomaly were two distinct, thick parallel lines about 10 feet
apart that ran for about 200 feet. Interestingly, these lines were
arcing with unusual symmetry, seemingly to hint at a bow- or
stern-like form. Although there was heavy ice and snow cover
shrouding the Anomaly in the 1999 image, a ship-like shape running
1,015 feet beneath the ice and snow was faintly perceptible.
Prime Opportunities
With hopefully more favorable weather conditions on Mt. Ararat
coming up in summer 2000, maybe, just maybe, the next IKONOS mission
would shed more light on this ancient mystery. Indeed, Turkey was
about to suffer through its hottest summer in 60 years, with
temperatures reaching 130 degrees melting highway asphalt—ideal
conditions for ice-clad Ararat to reveal a bit more of its secrets
to the penetrating and discerning “eyes” of IKONOS. In March 2000,
Insight on the News, the Washington Times Corp.’s weekly news
magazine, contracted GeoEye to task IKONOS to fly three missions
over the “object of interest” on Mt. Ararat.
Auspiciously, the hot weather in summer 2000 peeled back another
layer of secrecy covering the “object.” Another thick, straight line
running about 400 feet long was evident in the Aug. 5 image. It was
“connected to” and ran parallel to an area that I’ll call, for lack
of a better word, the “deck” of the “ship-like object.” This time,
much more of the “ship” was visible in the sub-surface ice.
We were even more fortunate with the results of the Aug. 11, 2000,
IKONOS mission over this deeply buried “object.” Some of the key
pieces in this puzzle seemed to be falling into place. Both the 200-
and 400-foot symmetrical lines were more visible than ever. For the
first time, the “deck” or “frame” area could be seen with relatively
good detail. Significantly, I could see two more parallel lines
running about 400 feet, connected by what appeared to be many
cross-connecting lines. Although there was heavy cloud cover over
the south end of the “object,” what was visible suggested that these
two “connecting” parallel lines continued toward the cloud-covered
part of the “object.” There was a hint that these lines ended up in
the form of a “bow-type” shape.
Totally free of cloud-cover, Mt. Ararat on Sept. 13, 2000, granted
us a great glimpse of the Anomaly. Fortunately, there was a major
glacial meltback on the Anomaly, and a couple of questions raised by
the Aug. 11 mission seemed a little bit closer to being answered.
The “bow shape” of the south end of the Anomaly was beginning to
emerge more clearly, and the “deck” part of the Anomaly gave subtle
hints that a “roof-like structure” might be covering parts of it.
In July 2005, IKONOS broke through the clouds on Mt. Ararat and
imaged the Anomaly again. Although there is heavy snow and ice cover
on the Anomaly, the image confirmed that the “ship-like” shape of
the Anomaly hasn’t changed in nearly 60 years, since the U.S. Air
Force plane zeroed in on it in 1949.
On Feb. 1, 2003, DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite zoomed in on the
Anomaly at 2-foot resolution. This mission revealed that the Anomaly
is very much “ship-shaped” and about 160 feet wide. This could be
significant, because the Genesis architectural blueprint gives
Noah’s Ark a 6:1 length-to-width ratio at 300 cubits in length and
50 cubits in width. At about 1,015 feet long and 160 feet wide, the
Anomaly appears to fall into this biblical proportions ballpark.
That could merely be a coincidence, but then again, maybe the
Anomaly site has more secrets to reveal.
With the launch of IKONOS’ high-tech successor, GeoEye-1, in
February 2007, my satellite archaeology project is poised to shed
even greater high-tech light on an enduring ancient mystery. This
new high-tech eye in the sky will have an astounding .4-meter
resolution, nearly twice the resolution of IKONOS. At that time,
perhaps Mt. Ararat will shed its greatest secret of all.
