Black Sea Artifacts and the Flood of Noah
by Bob Helfinstine
The following article has been spreading through the e-mail circuits lately. There is one comment that I would like to make about the idea that the remains are from before the flood of Noah.
The Biblical flood was so destructive that the whole surface of the earth was reshaped. No human structures would have survived and remained on a surface, even one that is presently under water. I would expect that these remains are from an early post-flood period, and that post-flood catastrophic events that are described in secular and Biblical history were responsible for the surface changes that resulted in placing this area under water.
There are other structures under the surface of the Mediterranean sea and in several locations in the Pacific Ocean.
People who envision the Biblical flood as a local flood or as an event that did little damage could speculate on the possibility that these remains are from before Noah's flood, but that doesn't fit with the the Biblical description of the flood.
A recent discovery of artifacts on the bottom of the Black Sea provides further evidence of the Biblical flood of Noah's day. The Washington Times reports that remnants of human habitation were found in 300 feet of water, off the coast of Turkey. Undersea explorer Robert Ballard of the Black Sea Project calls this find a "very exciting discovery."
Ballard says his team found a former river valley beneath the sea. In the valley, they found a collapsed structure containing hand-made wooden beams. He says the structure was clearly built by humans. The group is mapping the site and looking for other structures in the area.
Ballard says his team has yet to figure out what civilization inhabited the river valley. Ballard, known for discovering the remains of such ships as the Titanic, Bismarck, and Yorktown, says this recent discovery provides concrete evidence to a Black Sea coast civilization before the Biblical flood.