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Mounts Ararat and Gilboa, Provincetown’s large dunes
Why do the two large dunes near the Provincetown-Truro border bear the names Mount Ararat and Mount Gilboa? An early survey map of Provincetown Harbor made by Major J. D. Graham of the U.S Engineers Corp in 1832-1835 indicates their location, so the names have been used for a long time. Residents in the 19th century would probably not have found the names unusual or wondered about their origins. While books were valuable and rare, almost everyone had access to a Bible and was familiar with biblical allusions. Mount Ararat and Mount Gilboa would have been immediately recognized as the names of important sites mentioned in the Bible. I, on the other hand, had to do a little searching on the Internet to find the origins of these, to me, strange names. This is what I found.
Mount Ararat is the large dune you encounter at the end of Pilgrim Lake to the right of Route 6 as you head out across the dunes toward the ocean. The biblical Mount Ararat is located in eastern Turkey on the border of Armenia and Iran. It is the highest mountain in Turkey. Legend says Noah's ark moored at Mount Ararat after the great flood described in the Bible. Although many people believe this is the landing place of Noah’s ark, the Bible does not say this. It does say Noah landed in the Urartian Mountains. Ararat is the highest peak in these mountains, and so some people have drawn the conclusion that this is where Noah landed. Although numerous expeditions have searched for the remains of Noah’s ark on the mountain, it has never been proven this is where the ark landed. Just as Mount Ararat in Turkey is the highest peak in the area, the sand dune named Mount Ararat is Provincetown’s highest dune. One source says that the mariners of Provincetown named it in honor of Noah, a fellow mariner.
Mount Gilboa is in Israel. It is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible in the second book of Samuel as the site where Saul the first king of Israel died fighting the Philistines. According to a passage in Samuel II 1:19-21, when David, the second king of Israel, found Saul’s body he cried out, “How the mighty have fallen!” and cursed the mountain, saying, “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings.” I suspect that the large barren sand dune at the edge of town reminded residents of the cursed, barren Mount Gilboa mentioned in the Bible. It is ironic that Mount Gilboa, the large sand dune near Pilgrim Heights to the left of Route 6 as you enter Provincetown, is now the site of a water tower.
[Laurel Guadazno is curator of education for the Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum.]
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Dec 1st, 2005