Arkeology

Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" is coming to theaters on March 28, his fans waiting for it for years. The Brooklyn-born filmmaker became renowned for his dark vision, which made his characters fascinating. Who couldn't forget Max Cohen, who had the utmost faith in numbers. But not all figures have the answers to life's mysteries, numerical constants in particular. So expect a different kind of Noah, not the Bible's depiction of him. A little deranged perhaps.

Don't be surprised if the film will bring up the Ark's whereabouts.

The Ark was built to save Noah and his family from the deluge, which would wash up the planet. According to the Bible, when the water subsided, the Ark found itself in the mountains of Ararat. Anyone familiar with geography would point out Mount Ararat, the highest peak in Turkey. (Actually, it skirted the Turkish-Iranian border.) But snow covered the place. Then there was the question of faith. The latter prompted skeptics to brand the believers as arkeologists, insisting that they were searching for something that don't exist at all. But Noah's Ark was on the same place as the lost continent of Atlantis, the hollow Earth, and the unicorn. The world would turn upside down if there was proof of its existence, if what remained of it could be brought down from Ararat.

Ararat is the national symbol of Armenia, shown in its coat of arms. The illustration showed the Ark atop the mountain, water covering its base. Does this mean that the Armenians believe it is still in one piece? They do. According to Dr. Friedrich Parrot, naturalist and traveler, he stated in "Journey to Ararat" Armenia's belief that no one must reach the summit in able to preserve the ark. In Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, Noah's Mausoleum is found. The architecture dated back to the 8th century, which can be a cause for doubt. Still. Last but not the least, there's an interesting structure in Agri, Turkey, which Ron Wyatt, another famed traveler, believed was the site of Noah's Ark. But doubters insisted that this was an otherworldly formation, a result of centuries of movement of the Earth's crust.

There have been numerous attempts to scale Ararat and find that elusive Ark during the past century. Aaron J. Smith, dean from Greensboro, North Carolina. Unsuccessful. James Irwin, former astronaut. Unsuccessful. Daniel McGivern, businessman. Unsuccessful. Historians and archeologists labeled all of these as red herrings, but it doesn't make them better. Don't be surprised if this would make it to the big screen soon. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made a franchise from the legends of the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" reportedly showed the location of Sheba's wealth, adapted to the big screen many times. All were Biblical tales, but science turned them into another opportunity for adventure. What might have been.

For now, Aronofsky's take on Noah, his ark, and the flood that would give mankind a second chance would be the one to watch out.