From:    Robert Curry
To:      All                                    Jun-01-94 18:00:58
Subject: Fasold book

As promised, here is my report on _The Ark of Noah_ by David Fasold,
the book that "Raoul Newton" calls evidence for his claim that
he has a boat at over 7,000 feet above sea level.

For those who requested an ISBN, it is 0-922066-10-8.  Copyright
1988 by David Fasold (self-described "Ark-ologist"), and published
by Wynwood Press.

Now for some questions to be answered in no particular order.


1>  Q: What's the location of "Raoul's" boat?

    A: Fasold says it's 16 miles SW of Ararat, buried underground:
       "I have every anticipation that the boat will eventually
       be excavated by the Turks..." (p. 120)


2>  Q: Is it really over 7,000 feet about sea level?

    A: Not quite.  The site in question is said to be 6,350 feet
       above sea level. (chart on p. 46)

       Perhaps "Raoul" was too befuddled trying to make pi closer
       to 10/3 than to 3 to worry overmuch about accuracy.


3>  Q: Are there photographs that clearly show the boat?

    A: No, as it is supposedly buried, but there are some pictures
       of rocks and of ribbons stretched along the grass and dirt.

       There are _drawings_ of a boat, by Fasold himself, where
       he "shows" the building of the ark, the inside of the
       ark, a cutaway view of the bow, and more.

       Quite an imagination.


4>  Q: What does Fasold think the Ark is made of?

    A: I refer you to his own words - "a solid reed raft covered
       with a bituminous mixture of cement...

       "Unfortunately those scientists visiting the site at
       earlier dates were geologists rather than geochemists.
       What they failed to realize was that what they considered
       a clay upswelling was in actuality decomposed cement!"
       (p. 272)


5>  Q: Did he dig up something on which to base that conclusion?

    A: No, it is merely the product of his fanciful and selective
       patchwork of various flood stories from a few cultures.
       His group was restricted to surface investigations. (p. 253)


6>  Q: So what did Fasold do to investigate?

    A: The details are unclear.

       He claims to have detected iron under the surface of the
       site in 1985.  Helpers attached survey ribbons to stakes
       that he placed in the ground where iron was supposedly
       detected by what he calls "the frequency generator."

       He claims that this device was "a new prototype, actually
       the fourth one in existence," obtained from someone
       named John Fales whom he met while diving off the coast
       of Florida.  This is the only mention of Fales. (pp. 103-105)

       Suspiciously vague?  That's nothing compared to the bizarre
       description he gives of this mystery device in operation:

       "With the frequency set on iron I gave the pulse some time
       to spread out through the structure. The response was strong.
       The object was so hot the frequency wave came up above the
       ground almost eighteen inches." (p. 115)

       Later, he wrote that "the frequency generator [heats] up the
       iron in the Ark." (p. 317)


7>  Q: What?

    A: No need for explanation.  Surely we can trust Mr. Fasold's
       knowledgeable use of an instrument that came from nowhere,
       and his objective connection of the dots to discover the
       "iron lines" revealing the structure of an underground boat.

       No need to mention his fanatical desire to find the "Ark of
       Noah" nearly bankrupting him, according to his own report.

       The obsession couldn't possibly have affected his completely
       unbiased credibility.


8>  Q: Is Fasold some kind of nut?

    A: By all means, judge for yourself.

       "The Bible plainly declares that in pre-Flood times, and also
       for a brief period after the Flood, the earth was visited by
       extraterrestrials. They took up residence on the earth, having
       direct dealings with man. If the comment by Jesus in Matthew
       24:37 ("as the days of Noah were") can be taken in this
       regard, then we might be looking toward a close encounter
       with the Nephilim in the near future." (p. 75)


9>  Q: So what is the main theme of his book?

    A: That he is the One True Ark-ologist, who found the Real Ark
       of Noah where the poor, misguided would-be Ark-ologists
       simply refuse to look because they all unreasonably insist
       that the Ark must be on Mt. Ararat.

       A considerable portion of the book is spent criticizing
       these other nuts, and in trying to defuse their criticisms
       of his One True Site of the Real Ark of Noah.

       The usual religious squabbling over imagined things.