By Larry Mundinger <LarryM @ se.rr.com>
October 1997
The Wyatt Archaeological Museum occupies what was once a service station and convenience store 55 miles south of Nashville and just west of I-65 exit 27 (Lynville/Cornersville exit). Upon arriving, a caretaker emerged from a nearby building and led me into a room with chairs and a large screen TV. The walls were covered with posters depicting the discoveries of Ron Wyatt, an Adventist nurse ansethetist who practices in Nashville. The material on the walls would lead one to believe that Wyatt is a veritable Indiana Jones. One side of the room is dominated by a 15 foot long wooden model of Noah's ark. The caretaker started a video and left.
The video started off by telling how Wyatt was invited by the Turkish government to investigate a site in eastern Turkey which in aerial photography taken in 1959 showed a boat shaped object. A brief shot of a well dressed Middle Eastern man presumably lends credence to this claim. The video shows Wyatt and his team marking the outline of the ark including the keel and ribs of the vessel with surveyer's tape. It was claimed that the buried features were located by technical means. Material found on the internet attributed to one of the expedition members claims that dowsing with brass rods was the actual technique used. It was also claimed that metal found at the site was sent to Los Alamos by a John Baumgardner and found to be "highly refined alloys." Again, in a statement found on the internet and attributed to Baumgardner, he says that, based on the analysis, the samples are believed to be natural formations. Even John Morris of the Institute for Creation Research has discounted the possibility that this is anything but a natural formation. Nevertheless, there is a piece of what is claimed to be petrified wood from the ark in a display case at the front of the building.
The video next tells how after visiting Israel for many years, Wyatt recognized the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah on the western shore of the Dead Sea. What were thought to be geological formations, were recognized by Wyatt to be the incinerated remains of those evil cities. One formation even has a Sphynx shape. No explanation was given for the fact that what were supposedly structures with interior spaces are now entirely filled with "ash." It was explained that the layering (which I in my ignorance would have attributed to natural geological processes) is the result of "thermal ionization" where ions supposedly attract and repel each other and distort the flame. It is explained that sulfur rained down and burned everything. The announcer informed me that sulfur nodules found at the site were analyzed and found to be 95.72% sulfur but a test of the number of BTUs of heat generated generated during combustion could not be done because the extreme heat would damage the lab's stainless steel chamber. It was this incredibly high combustion temperature that burned everything including the stone buildings to a fine ash. I guess we were unaware of the danger when in high school chemistry lab some of us burned sulfur and nearly drove everyone out of the building with the fumes. I always thought that sulfur was yellow at room temperature, but there is a rock containing an off-white ball of what was claimed to be sulfur in the display case. I really need to take a chemistry refresher course.
The next segment tells of how Wyatt discovered the site of the Red Sea crossing of the Israelites on the Gulf of Aqaba. He recognized the site because of columns set up on both sides by Solomon but not noticed until he recognized them for what they were. Naturally, this is at the most shallow part of the gulf and he has the drawings to prove it. The multi-talented Wyatt has dived in the area and has taken pictures of chariot wheels on the bottom. The only one that I could recognize in the video as a wheel was one that was claimed to have been covered in gold leaf and since the wood has decayed away it is too fragile to recover. Before leaving I asked the caretaker, who clamed to have been on the expedition, the dimensions of the wheels, hoping to use military mobility algorithms to determine if such wheels would function in that terrain. Unfortunately, all he could tell me was that he thought that they were about so high (indicating about 2 feet). Of course, once they learned of the discovery, the Saudi government removed the column on their side of the Gulf.
There was also a segment on Wyatt's discovery of the mountain in Saudi Arabia where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Nearby is the altar of the golden calf. Petroglyphs of bulls and calves on the rocks prove it. Unfortunately, Saudi Arabia does not allow tourists and the area has been made off-limits by the government so you will just have to believe the video.
The feature attraction is Wyatt's discovery of the Ark of the Covenant. Yes, Wyatt found the Ark in a cave below the site of the crucifixion. Unfortunately, none of the cameras used showed anything but a yellow blurred area but a drawing was superimposed on the video to show what it looked like. Something supernatural must be interfering with the photography. More astounding, is the fact that during the crucifixion the mountain split, opening a crack that allowed the blood to run down onto the mercy seat. The pamphlet that I picked up on the way out says that no further information would be released regarding the blood until the analysis is complete but material on the internet claims that analysis shows only half the normal number of chromosomes found in human tissue. Thus, according to Wyatt, the virgin birth is confirmed.
A Rube Goldberg contraption of levers and ropes in the front part of the building attracted my attention on my way out. The caretaker showed me a short video documenting how Wyatt had discovered how the pyramids had been built. These devices were used to lift the enormous stone blocks. Since these devices seem to have a mechanical advantage of no more than 1.5, it is clear that Wyatt neither studied physics nor consulted a mechanical engineer. The device was made of wood and this helped explain to the Egyptian officials the function of the pieces of wood that they had found in the vicinity of the pyramids. A brief shot of a well dressed Middle Eastern man proves how greatful they were to receive this information. He amazingly appeared to be the identical twin of the Turkish official mentioned above.
On my way back to Huntsville I thought about this tabloid version of a museum. It had been entertaining in a way similar to some of the the carnival shows that we used to go to as kids. We would pay a quarter to view a poorly faked mummified half human half ape corpse or perhaps even a live animal with some mutation. But, we never took those shows seriously. There were some things in the Wyatt video that were definitely genuine. These were the segments of the television program 20/20 and morning news shows that have covered the "discoveries" of Ron Wyatt. Also, at least one Nashville newspaper has featured Wyatt in its weekend supplement. I wonder how many people take the Wyatt Archaeological Museum seriously because of this uncritical coverage.
In fairness, I must report that my internet searches revealed that Wyatt is not highly regarded by at least some Adventists who have devoted a good part of a web site to debunking his bogus archaeology.
If you want to visit, it is open 9 to 5 Sunday through Friday (closed Saturday). It might be wise to call ahead (615-293-4745) to confirm this.
