Wyatt, Ron/Wyatt Archaeological Research. Con artist/scam. Ron Wyatt (deceased – born 1933, died 4 August 1999) was a self-styled "Indiana Jones" of biblical archaeology. He has been described as a "professional con man" for his false and self-aggrandising claims of having discovered all sorts of things like Noah's Ark, Mrs Noah's grave (with a fortune in treasure), anchor/drogue stones from Noah's Ark, the real location of the Ark of the Covenant, the real site of Sodom and Gomorrah, the real Mt Sinai, a genuine sample of Jesus Christ's blood with a DNA test showing he didn't have an earthly father (and the cells began dividing when placed in growth medium), and so on. Between 1977 and 1999 Ron Wyatt took over 100 trips to the Middle East – an indication of the amount of money to be made promoting his false claims. All his claims have been found to be either quite bogus or completely lacking evidence, but have been spread in New Zealand by the sale of books, video tapes and a speaking tour by Jonathan Gray. More recently Ron Wyatt's claims are now promoted in New Zealand by Ross Patterson and Daniel McKibben.

But what do independant investigators say? Researcher Gary Amirault wrote an article A Great Christian Scam on the Tentmaker Ministries site (a site which incidentally promotes universalism):

... probably the most incredible scam I have ever seen.

... WAR (Wyatt Archaeological Research) is a Christian con game. Ron Wyatt is either very psychologically ill or one of the greatest liars I have ever come across.

... This scam had its beginning as early as 25 years ago. It is still going on, ever increasing in deception. Many leaders in the Christian community know it is a lie, yet they keep their mouths shut either because they do not want people to know they fell for it, or because they made money themselves from it, or because they are running a small version of a scam themselves and just don't want people to get too disgusted with things like this because it might shut down their little scam.

Gary Amirault went on to do even more investigation, including the way people's quotes have been misused:

I have telephone interviewed most of the people on WAR's Noah's Ark video. Not one single person I spoke with on that video presently believes that Ron Wyatt's site is Noah's Ark. Some are outraged that Wyatt is still using film clips which make them look like they are substantiating Wyatt's claims when, in fact, the opposite is the case. ... They no longer believe it is Noah's Ark. They believe it is a natural geological formation. As to the so-called discoveries on Ron Wyatt's video entitled "Presentation of Discoveries," those interviewed whom Ron Wyatt presented with his "facts" put little or no archaeological value on any of the material. "Fraud" was the word most often used when discussing these so-called discoveries. Read the letters from archaeologists within Ron Wyatt's own denomination, Seventh Day Adventist, and you will see that even those who would have an interest in substantiating Ron Wyatt's claims find little or no scientific evidence to support any of these discoveries.

In 1992 Answers in Genesis investigated the evidence and thoroughly refuted any idea that the site is or ever was Noah's Ark. From the Answers in Genesis special report:

True/False?

• Radar shows man-made (boat) structure..........FALSE
• There is a regular metallic pattern............FALSE
• Lab tests show petrified laminated wood........FALSE
• Turkish scientists found metal rods............FALSE
• Metal artefacts have been proved by lab........FALSE
• There are ‘ship’s ribs’ showing................FALSE
• There is lots of petrified wood................FALSE
• Turkish Commission says ‘it’s a boat’...........FALSE

Another refutation was co-written by David Fasold, a former supporter of the site who has excavated at the site and concluded it isn't Noah's Ark; it's a natural formation, not man-made:

Conclusion

Evidence from microscopic studies and photo analyses demonstrates that the supposed Ark near Dogubayazit is a completely natural rock formation. It cannot have been Noah's Ark nor even a man-made model.

However, David Fasold is still quoted by Daniel McKibben and his colleagues as supporting the site being Noah's Ark. Similarly with their attempts to give support to their claims by references to geologist Dr John Baumgardner. Although he was initially enthusiastic about the site, Dr Baumgardner now categorically denies the formation is Noah's Ark, and goes much further:

I am almost 100% certain that Ron 'planted' them [the rivets allegedly found at the site]. ...

Also from these excerpts it should be clear that I consider Wyatt's misrepresentation of my views as morally wrong and dishonest. But his deception of multitudes of Christians who have not had the opportunity to check his claims firsthand as I have is an even worse crime.

With evidence so readily available disproving that the site is Noah's Ark, it is the position of the New Zealand Cult List that anyone who still promotes the false Ron Wyatt Ark site and its associated false evidence is either willfully ignorant or is deliberately deceiving.

The claim that Jebel al-Lawz is the site of the real Mt Sinai – a claim also made by Bob Cornuke – has also been soundly debunked by people with more biblical and archaeological knowledge (and common sense) than Ron Wyatt or any of those who currently promote the same claims. To quote researcher Gordon Franz:

As popular as this idea may be in certain evangelical (and even Jewish) circles, there is no credible historical, geographical, archaeological or biblical evidence for the thesis that Mt Sinai is at Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia.

Brad Sparks has compiled a summary of the problems of the alleged Mt Sinai site.

Note that the only reason Ron Wyatt hasn't been given a Danger rating is that his claims are not likely to do any damage other than to people's wallets.

	Caution: The group/person or belief/practice has false or questionable doctrine that to varying degrees may be directly or indirectly harmful to its members/followers and their families. Such groups/people/beliefs/practices are not necessarily bad but should be approached or used with caution.
	Hot Topic: The group/person or belief/practice has recently featured in the secular news media, has generated notable correspondence, is a popular conversation topic, etc. Note that this rating has nothing to do with the "cultishness" of a group.

Printed on 13 October 2025 at www.cults.co.nz.
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