Dark Matter: Ark

1. (the ark) (In the Bible) the ship built by Noah to save his family and two of every kind of animal from the Flood; Noah’s ark. 1.1 ARCHAIC A ship or boat. 2 short for Ark of the Covenant. 2.1 (also Holy Ark) A chest or cupboard housing the Torah scrolls in a synagogue. 3 (also ark shell) A small bivalve mollusc which attaches itself to rocks with byssus threads. Order Arcoidea: 4 A low hut used to house livestock, often incorporating a covered run (Oxford English Dictionary) In southern Iraq, ancient model boats from 2300-2100 BC were found in graves in the cemetery at UR. It is thought the boats may have been intended for use by the dead person or as ‘bait’ to lure away evil spirits. There is a 4000 year old bitumen boat in Room 56 of the British Museum. The small boats made of bitumen and earth are similar to those used in the marshes of south Iraq today.