Noah's Ark hunters drilling into a boat-shaped formation in eastern Turkey say they have not yet found ancient wood, which would lend weight to their theory that the site is the Ark's final resting place.

According to Newsweek, exploratory work and drilling with an underground robot has revealed nothing conclusive. The team is waiting for laboratory tests to show whether the samples are rock sediment or organic material.

If the material matches the surrounding earth it would support the view that the Durupınar Formation is a natural feature, as a 1996 study by geologist Lorence Collins and explorer David Fasold concluded.

Andrew Jones, founder of Noah's Ark Scans, an independent US-based group, believes the Ark's remains will be found there. The group is working with Bakhtar Research and Engineering LLC, whose scientist Dr Khosrow Bakhtar led the radar survey.

Last week, Mr Jones said core samples from the 157-metre formation had produced layers of rich organic material that could be "the decayed top-tier remains of the Ark". He has now told Newsweek that was a hypothesis being tested, not a finding.

In one hole, at four to five metres, the drill bit broke on a hard layer. Jones says that could be petrified wood or a block of rock, that's not known yet.

Radar data suggests the formation isn't uniform solid rock, and no bedrock or solid limestone has so far been found in the holes drilled inside it. The team says that challenges claims it is purely natural.

First laboratory results are expected over the winter, with a fuller report in spring 2027.

Physical evidence of Noah's Ark would be a significant discovery. In Genesis, God sends a flood to judge human wickedness, and Noah builds an ark to save his family and pairs of every animal. Genesis 8:4 says it came to rest on "the mountains of Ararat", the region of eastern Turkey near the Armenian and Iranian borders.