Yeung Wing-Cheung, from the Noah's Ark Ministries International research team that made the discovery on Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey, said: "It's not 100 percent that it is Noah's Ark, but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it."

According to Genesis 8:4, once the flood waters receded Noah’s Ark “came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” That is where the team of Chinese and Turkish Evangelical Christians found what they believe to be the famed Ark.

The group says that carbon dating proves the relics found are 4,800 year old which correlates to the time-frame given in the Bible for the Ark.

Fox News reports, “There have been several reported discoveries of the remains of Noah's Ark over the years, most notably a find by archaeologist Ron Wyatt in 1987. At the time, the Turkish government officially declared a national park around his find, a boat-shaped object stretched across the mountains of Ararat.”

Fox continues, “Nevertheless, the evangelical ministry remains convinced that the current find is in fact more likely to be the actual artifact, calling upon Dutch Ark researcher Gerrit Aalten to verify its legitimacy.”

Professor Oktay Belli stated at a press conference, “The search team has made the greatest discovery in history. This finding is very important and the greatest up to now. Although many people have searched the mountain for the holy Ark, this discovery is the first serious search (and) that the team found a wood structure under ice.”

“There’s a tremendous amount of solid evidence that the structure found on Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey is the legendary Ark of Noah,” saidDutch Ark researcher Gerrit Aalten.

Catholic News Agency reports, “Team member Panda Lee recalled on Sunday that in October 2008, ‘I climbed the mountain with the Turkish team. At an elevation of more than 4,000 meters (13,123 feet), I saw a structure built with plank-like timber. Each plank was about 8 inches wide. I could see tenons, proof of ancient construction predating the use of metal nails.’

“’We walked about 100 meters to another site,’ she added. “I could see broken wood fragments embedded in a glacier, and some 20 meters long. I surveyed the landscape and found that the wooden structure was permanently covered by ice and volcanic rocks.’

The Christian Science Monitor reports, “Dr. Randall Price, an evangelical Christian and former member of the Chinese-led team that announced this week’s finding, says the latest purported finding may not withstand closer scrutiny.

"’If the world wants to think this is a wonderful discovery, that’s fine. My problem is that, in the end, proper analysis may show this to be a hoax and negatively reflect how gullible Christians can be,’ he says.

“Dr. Price, who is director of the Center for Judaic Studies at the conservative Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., was the archaeologist on the Chinese-led team in 2008 when this alleged discovery was first made. He says he has ‘difficulties with a number of issues related to the evidence at hand.’

“Price declined to elaborate. However, a leaked email from Price – which he confirms that he wrote – shows that he has reason to believe that a group of local Kurdish men trucked wood up to the mountain and staged an elaborate hoax for the Chinese team.”