The Daily Mail is reporting new excitement around a submerged fortress in Lake Van, in far eastern Turkiye. First discover late last century, the ruins are monumental and in the style of the Urartu culture who were centred in that area.

The new excitement is purely speculation. Given that it is “only” 150 miles from My Ararat, there is now suggestion that somehow the stone fortress is somehow connected to Noah, which is a stretch for any datings and known engineering skills at the time of Noah. There is also no certainty around why the lake levels have increased numerous times, although volcanoes are suspected.

To my mind, Gobekli Tepe is a better fit. it will interesting to see what comes for Matt LeCroix’s planned dive, especially any symbolism and dating.

Oops!

Kentucky has withdrawn its offer of tax breaks for a religious-themed park that would feature a 500ft-long wooden ark because its organisers plan to screen park employees based on religion.

The planned Ark Encounter park has evolved from a tourism attraction into an outreach for the Christian ministry that is building it, the state tourism secretary, Bob Stewart, said in a letter to the group’s lawyer on Wednesday.

“Certainly, Ark Encounter has every right to change the nature of the project from a tourism attraction to a ministry,” Stewart wrote in the letter. “However, state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination or otherwise be used to advance religion.”http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/11/noahs-ark-theme-park-loses-tax-breaks-religious-hiring-policy

Surely the message is more important than the religiousness of their staff?  I fully expect that the people in charge will change their tune for a tax break…