Glimpses of the past can sometimes be unearthed in the most ordinary places. In a dig for an underground parking facility for the Zurich opera house in Switzerland, evidence of ancient human occupation has been uncovered. Local archaeologist Niels Bleicher found of particular interest a well-preserved wooden door.
The door, made of poplar, belonged to a lakeside stilt house. By comparing tree rings from the door to other wood samples, Bleicher tentatively concluded that it was made in 3063 B.C. As one of very few doors remaining from that era, this find provides a unique peek into the abilities and technology of its builders.
Bleicher told the Associated Press that the door was "solid and elegant," and "very remarkable because of the way the planks were held together. It's a clever design that even looks good."1 The report said that people had to build thick, solid shelters as protection from the cold climate that was prevalent then.
It stands to reason that this artifact, just like others that are thousands of years old, was cleverly and aesthetically designed, because mankind was created with, and has always possessed, the requisite qualities and abilities to construct such things.2
The date provided for the door, however, cannot be correct. According to the highest-quality source of dating information—which most scientists have chosen to reject for unscientific reasons—the worldwide Flood of Noah had not yet occurred when the door is claimed to have been made. That Flood obliterated mankind and human artifacts, except for those preserved on the Ark.3 And tree-ring dating is not nearly reliable enough to challenge this Bible-based history.4
The cold weather that the ancient door's builders endured is consistent, however, with their having lived during the Ice Age that immediately followed the Flood and lingered for some hundreds of years.5 Humans would have had to devise various means of protection as the world's climate slowly regained a measure of equilibrium, and evidence such as this remarkably designed door is just what would be expected by biblical historians.
References
- Jordans, F. Swiss archaeologists find 5,000-year-old door. Associated Press, October 20, 2010.
- 2. Thomas, B. Ancient Computers? ICR News. Posted on icr.org August 12, 2008, accessed October 21, 2010.
- There may be only a few possible exceptions. See Morris, J. 2010. An Amazing Anomalous Fossil. Acts & Facts. 39 (2): 16.
- Thomas, B. Why Aren't Earth's Trees Older? ICR News. Posted on icr.org April 12, 2010, accessed October 21, 2010.
- 5. Oard, M. 1987. The Ice Age and the Genesis Flood. Acts & Facts. 16 (6).
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Article posted on October 27, 2010.
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