The Advanced Technical Knowledge of Noah and His Family
The first people to inhabit the earth after the flood, Noah and his immediate family, were NOT primitive- they possessed the vast knowledge of the pre-flood world. However, the world was barren just after the flood. The only materials they would have had AT FIRST to work with would have been the things that they brought with them on the ark. They may have even "cannabalized" parts of the ark until the trees had time to grow large enough to use for timber, and they found natural sources for metals and substances with which to fashion tools, such as obsidian.
One of the most exciting discoveries for Ron when he was working on Noah's Ark was the large amount of metal he found in the remains of the ship. (See our video "Discovered- Noah's Ark" for detailed information and analyses.) He believes that the material used for the ballast, which is a type of slag or waste product of metal production, was the slag which resulted from the production of the metal fittings of the ark. Since it was handy and heavy, it just made sense that they would use it for the ballast. But Ron believes there was a further reason why this was used. After the flood, Noah and his family would have needed metal to make implements for farming and tools. But until they found natural sources of the various metals, Ron believes they used the metals from the ballast and perhaps even some of the metal fittings and objects on the ark to make their implements. Of course, this theory would only be worthy of consideration if evidence was found of metal-making in the area...
Earliest Site of Metal Working- Just a Few Miles from Noah's Home!
A few miles from the site of the ark, in the Araxes Valley, is a vast complex of extremely ancient stone fences radiating outward from an ancient stone house. Behind this complex (to the north) is a very ancient stone altar located upon a ridge between 2 hills. In front of this house Ron found 2 tombstones which indicated that they were marking the graves of Noah and his wife, and therefore we believe this was Noah's home. Just across the dirt road (to the south) is the village in which a large number of the anchor stones with crosses carved on them stand. On the north side of the ridge of hills that contains the altar is the Araxes River and across the river is the site of Metsamor. Here, within a few miles of Noah's home, is what has been termed "one of", if not "THE" oldest metallurgical site ever found! Analyses of copper found there showed 14 different alloys, including tin, lead, antimony and zinc. (PH, p. 70).The sophistication of this metal-working center has fascinated archaeologists as this site is termed, "indeed unique in its complexity and long life". (PH, p.68.) This metallurgy center is quite sophisticated. "Clay pipes inserted in the furnaces for use with bellows were also found. Likewise of this first phase at Metsamor are phosphorus brickettes:... Phosphorus was used in the smelting of cassiterite to obtain tin." (PH, p. 68.)
Earliest Bronze-Making and Glass-Making
Archaeological sites are excavated to discover the sequence of materials- those found directly above the virgin soil with nothing below them represent the earliest occupation level. At Metsamor, the earliest phase yielded bronze slag, (PH, p. 68) a discovery which continues to puzzle archaeologists as they believe man progressed very slowly through the various stages of knowledge - first the discovery of fire, then the invention of the wheel, then cultivating crops and domesticating animals, and then much later, knowledge of metals and metallurgy. Yet here is evidence that man appeared "on the scene" with tremendous technological knowledge, producing an alloy (bronze) which requires tin and sometimes includes zinc for increased hardness.
And not only did they produce sophisticated metals here, they produced GLASS! "Glass making also
flourished at Metsamor, as indicated by six types of metallurgical material, including zinc and manganese, alloyed in different ways to make different colours." (PH, p. 110). Remember Ron's theory about the ballast and metal objects from the ark? Several large ballast samples from the hull of the ark that Ron had tested showed over 85% manganese!
Earliest Rivets
Ron has documented the use of very large rivets on the ark. It seems reasonable to expect that Noah and his sons would have passed the usage of rivets on to their descendants, and that is exactly what the evidence shows. At Amiranis-Gora, north of the area of the ark, a cemetery revealed pottery with "knobs along the top of the shoulder...(that) seem to imitate rivets." (PH, p. 67).
But should there be any doubt, another very puzzling group of artifacts came to light in 1974 and 1975. A Turkish antiquities dealer brought the objects to the Adana (Turkey) Museum, giving first one and then another explanation of their origin. While their exact origin isn't known, it is known that he obtained them in the region and that they date to very near the third or early second millennia BC. Included in this group of artifacts are numerous copper knives, swords, chisels and axes. One interesting feature is that 2 of the swords are almost 36 inches long, "...which would have been difficult to wield with one hand".( AS, vol xli, p. 185). But the feature that interests us now is the fact that these have been dated to very early times by the archaeologists, and used RIVETS to attach the handle! In fact, all of the knives used rivets.
