A new claim is being made for the discovery of Noah's Ark, as evangelical explorers from China and Turkey believe they may have found the remnants of the legendary biblical vessel.

It's not 100 percent that it is Noah's Ark but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it," Yeung Wingcheung, a Hong Kong documentary filmmaker and member of the 15-strong team from Noah's Ark Ministries International.

The team says it recovered wooden specimens from a structure on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey at an altitude of 13,000 feet and that carbon dating suggested it was 4,800 years old.

Several compartments, some with wooden beams, are said to be inside and could have been used to house animals, the group indicated.

Yes, Noah's Ark is completely real! Now find out "what you don't Noah" about the story as well as your spectacular destiny they rarely ever mention in church in this autographed No. 1 best-seller!

Another NAMI explorer, Yuen Manfai, said at the Hong Kong news conference: "The search team and I personally entered a wooden structure high on the mountain. The structure is partitioned into different spaces. We believe that the wooden structure we entered is the same structure recorded in historical accounts and the same ancient boat indicated by the locals."

The group of archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement, explaining one had never been found above 11,500 feet in the vicinity.

"The search team has made the greatest discovery in history," said Prof. Oktay Belli, an archaeologist at Istanbul University. "This finding is very important and the greatest up to now."

Ahmet Ertugrul, leader of the search team, was first to get information on the location before commencing the hunt.

"I got to know the secret location in June 2008," he said. "The source told me that this is Noah's Ark. I took a team there for the search around the region and found a wooden structure. I took some photographs of the interior structure. Since I have worked closely with NAMI for some years, I informed them of the discovery."

The team also said local officials would ask the national government in Ankara to apply for United Nations World Heritage status so the site can be protected during an archaeological dig.

WND