Noah’s Flood Update- Part Three- The Drogue Stones
These are part of the reasons why researchers continue to return to the Durupinar Site and claim it is Noah’s ark. Here is the story behind the identification:
Scattered through the villages northwest of the Durupınar site — especially at Arzap — stand a series of enormous carved stones, some more than ten feet tall and weighing several tons. Each has a hole deliberately cut through its upper end. Researchers including Ron Wyatt identified these as drogue stones: heavy drag anchors that, in the ancient world, were trailed behind a vessel on long ropes to steady it in heavy seas and keep its bow turned into the waves. If that interpretation is correct, these would be the drogue stones once tethered to the Ark, cut loose and left near the landing site as the waters receded ( source)
The first problem is thinking that a pseudo-archaeologist like Ron Wyatt would be able to identify these stones and label them as Drogue stones. It is not that we are against amateurs participating in archaeology; it is the fact that he did not know if they were Drogue stones or some other stone feature.
He called them that probably because they were near his favored site for Noah’s Ark. The identification has stuck, influencing almost all researchers to consider Durupinar as the site of Noah’s Ark.
This seems to be a case of either guilt by association or circular reasoning. They are Drogue stones because they are near a possible ark site, and the site is a possible ark site because it is near the Drogue stones.
The second problem is: how would Noah and his family cut these Drogue stones loose when they only had a small window and a door shut by God to enter or exit? In the description given in Genesis 6 & 7, there does not appear to be a deck on top of the ark to facilitate this action.
These are called Drogue stones even though they are not part of God’s instructions for building the ark. Why would Noah need them when God would protect the ark from any problems?
God went to great lengths to have the ark built right, the humans and animals protected, so why would he have drogue stones instead of using his power to guard the ship while it floated on top of the waters?
No one knows how rough the water was during the ark’s journey. The Bible does not tell us, nor do any ancient manuscripts give us this information. It may be that the waters were not as fierce as people assume.
Then, not everyone accepts Ron Wyatt’s identification:
Many of the stones are carved with crosses, believed to have been added centuries later by Armenian Christians who venerated them as relics of the Flood. Skeptics offer alternative explanations — that the stones are Armenian memorial markers (khachkars) or repurposed pagan stelae — and their precise age and original purpose remain debated. (Ibid)
While this is possible, believing an artifact is connected to a biblical event and actually being connected to the biblical event is a wide chasm that is hard to cross. The only aspect of these stones that researchers use to identify them as Drogue stones is the hole in the top.
A hole in the top is not exclusive to Drogue stones, and there are many other possible uses that would explain why the holes were there. Maybe someone did carve the crosses in them in the post-flood world.
However, like Stonehenge and other henges found around the world, these stones were erected in the pre-flood world for some other purpose. There are no ancient contemporary manuscripts available that describe the purpose of these stones.
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There is nothing available describing who created them. There is another problem with these stones:
Near the village of Kazan Ron Wyatt discovered thirteen giant drogue stones, all thousands of feet above sea level, and hundreds of kilometres from the nearest sea. ( source)
This may be so for the post-flood world, but it may not be so for the pre-flood world. We do not know the exact geography of the pre-flood world except that certain sunken landmasses may be part of that mystery.
In 4000+/- years, anyone could have erected those stones for whatever purpose they may have had. Location does not bring accurate identification. They claim Ron Wyatt found thirteen of these stones but other sources say that over 26 have been found (Not all by Ron Wyatt):
All around the Mountains and valleys of Ararat, near the resting place of Noah’s Ark, At least 26 massive “drogue stones” (giant stones with holes bored through the top) have been discovered scattered across the landscape. ( source)
The problem that arises here is, why would Noah need 26 of these stones? Would there be enough room for all the rope needed to secure the individual stones to the Ark?
In looking at some of the images available for these stones, the holes do not look centered and do look very unbalanced. That would mean that the unbalanced weight would make things worse or more dangerous for Noah, not better or safer.
In looking at more images, it seems that these stones are in a field of other stones that have nothing to do with the ark. It may be that these stones were arranged by unbelievers for whatever purpose they may have had, and that meaning is lost.
We do not accept the identification as too much is read into these stones with nothing supporting the researchers thinking to go in the direction they are connected to the ark.
Under one stone image are the words:
Above: Large cross is for Noah and six other crosses. One probably broken off. (source is link immediately above)
How would they know it was for Noah, especially if one is missing? It may not have broken off but was never there in the first place. Yes, someone may have carved the crosses in the stone not as an indicator of where the ark landed but in honor of Noah and his family.
People are too quick to leap to conclusions when it comes to where the ark landed. They spin weird theories that can never be verified. One example:
Perhaps this wall was built soon after the Flood to surround the village and protect the locals from attacks from wild animals. (Ibid)
What wild animals? The animals needed time to replenish the Earth. It is doubtful they would sacrifice their lives so early. They would be busy doing other things. Many of the ‘wild animals’ travelled great distances to their new homes.
We do not think these stones are connected to Noah’s ark, nor do we think that Durupinar is the ark or its resting place. Far too much has been read into these sites, and too many people take that eisegesis as fact.
The upcoming tests that are supposed to be done by Noah’s Ark Scans will be exclusionary of all people except for Noah and his family.
Originally published at http://theoarch.wordpress.com on September 16, 2026.
Author’s Note: This is the last part of a three-part series. Part One is on theoarch and Part two is on theologyarchaeology
