They’re raiders of the lost ark.

Archaeologists could be one step closer to locating Noah’s Ark’s final resting spot after noticing a peculiar feature on a 440-year-old world map called the Planisphere.

Created in 1587 by Italian cartographer Urbano Monte, this sprawling opus consists of 60 hand-drawn sheets that can be assembled into a 10-foot-wide circle, making it the largest known early map of the world.

The Planisphere, housed at Stanford University’s David Rumsey Map Center, features intricate illustrations of continents, far-off lands, and mythical monsters, all arranged in a layout that places the North Pole at the center.

One of its most notable features, however, is an alleged depiction of Noah’s Ark resting in Turkey’s Ararat mountains — the supposed resting place of the biblical lifeboat.

Genesis 8:4 notably states that the legendary vessel ended up on the “mountains of Ararat” following the 150-day Great Flood that inundated the Earth.

In a viral X post, independent researcher Jimmy Corsetti claimed that the Planisphere’s depiction “was same location” and length as the Durupinar site,” the peculiar “ship-shaped” formation near said mountains.

Included were photos of the ship’s supposed repository on the earthly facsimile, one of many made during the Age of Exploration, where European explorers remapping the known world according to their voyages to Asia and the Americas.

Coincidentally, the dimensions of the supposed ark’s gravesite matched the biblical measurements describing it as 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high — roughly 515 feet by 86 feet by 52 feet.

This region has been studied extensively for decades as researchers hope to discover whether the region, is in fact, the terminus of its final voyage.

Most recently, Noah’s Ark used ground-penetrating radar to reveal a series of corridors traversing the middle of the “boat” and alongside the inside edge of the possible ship, leading to a central cavity dubbed the atrium.

This layout appeared to mirror the Bible’s description indicating that the ship had three decks for Noah, his family and different pairs of animals.

“God told Noah to bring the animals in. And so these animals would have stayed there, plus Noah and his family,” said Andrew Jones, a researcher with Noah’s Ark Scans. “What’s interesting is that these voids are lining up below the ground – and they’re not just random.”

He added that infrared thermography (IRT), a heat-sensing tech that can detect formations deep underground, detected “a ship-shaped hull still preserved deep in the soil.”

Due to the age of the alleged vessel, Jones doesn’t expect to find actual physical remnants, but has unearthed soil samples that could prove its human-made.

“In 2024, we took 88 random soil samples inside and outside of that ship shape,” said Jones. “And what they showed was that the soil inside the ship shape had three times more organic matter than right outside, and 38 per cent more potassium.”

He added, “What that shows is that the soil is unique. And the grass, in the fall, it has a yellower color just inside.”

Researchers had previously said that the chemical composition had pointed to evidence of decomposing wood.

“If you know soil science — as I’m a soil scientist — you’ll understand that potassium levels, organic matter, and pH can all be influenced by decaying organic material,” said William Crabtree, another member of Noah’s Ark Scans. “If this was a wooden boat and the wood had rotted over time, we would expect to see elevated levels of potassium, changes in pH, and higher organic content — and that’s exactly what we’re finding.”

Meanwhile, fossils of ancient coral and seashells exhumed near the so-called repository, which sits roughly 6,500 feet above sea level, could potentially provide evidence of the biblical deluge.

However, some experts claim that this could be the result of tectonic plate movement that propelled the site high above the ancient ocean.