by Ian Loft

Created on: April 14, 2007   Last Updated: May 02, 2007

In 1996 the New York Times published what proved to be one of the most controversial theories of all time with many far reaching ramifications. It was an explosive theory describing a great flood that inundated 60 000 square miles, and it was postulated this may have been the source of the world's most famous flood story Noah's Ark from the book of Genesis.

The Bosphorus is the world's narrowest straight that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and eventually the Mediterranean Sea, and is approximately 30km long with the narrowest section at 700 metres. Two scientists from Colombia University proposed a theory that water raged through the Bosphorus at the rate of 42 cubic kilometres (10 cubic miles) per day for at least three hundred days to expand the Black Sea North and East by raising the water level many hundreds of feet. The effect was that a previously land-locked fresh water lake transformed to a salt-water sea connected to the world's oceans.

The Black Sea Deluge Theory remains a theory to this day because scholars in the scientific and religious community hold to very different ideas, and most suggest too many inconsistencies preclude this event from being definitive proof of the biblical flood. Hundreds of cultures in the world include stories describing a massive flood with Noah's flood perhaps the most renowned. The religious community however do not hold to the Deluge theory arguing that the six millennia time is not consistent with the biblical description of 2 350BC, and the geographical location is inconsistent with the belief of Noah's flood being universal.

Other scientists argue on the basis of mass migration and inconsistent timelines, that ice age melt water was involved, or that archaeological findings do not support the theory in terms of fossilised marine life and sediment deposits. The general consensus hold that to suggest the Black Sea Deluge theory as correct, it has to be assumed that no water flowed between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea. The Black Sea Deluge theory is therefore inconsistent with the universal flooding caused by forty days and nights of rain as described in Genesis.

This was certainly a fantastic theory that will fuel debate between the scientific and religious community for decades to come. The impact of proving Noah's Arc stories being correct is incalcuable given so much of the world's cultural and religious foundations recognise the biblical flood in their own unique ways. For now, we must be content to continue research, enjoy the debates and trust that some day the world will know for sure.

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