Noah's Ark ark could contain all the animals in the world, argued that Moses, the traditional author of the book of Genesis, had been brought up in Egypt and would therefore have used the larger Egyptian cubit. He also fixed the shape of the ark as a truncated pyramid, square at its base, and tapering to a square peak one cubit on a side; it was not until the 12th century that it came to be thought of as a rectangular box with a sloping roof. Early Christian artists depicted Noah standing in a small box on the waves, symbolizing God saving
Generations of Noah son who refused to come aboard the Ark, instead preferring to climb a mountain, where he drowned. Some later Islamic commentators give his name as either "Yam" or "Kan'an". According to Irish mythology, as found in the "Annals of the Four Masters" and elsewhere, Noah had another son named Bith who was not allowed aboard the Ark, and who attempted to colonise Ireland with 54 persons, only to be wiped out in the Deluge. Some 9th-century manuscripts of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" assert that "Sceafa" was the fourth son of Noah, born aboard the Ark, from whom the House of Wessex