Phoenicians Before Columbus Expedition
From the Mediterranean to the Americas
THE PHOENICIANS
The Phoenicians were an ancient maritime trading culture, existing from around 1200BC to 200BC. Occupying modern day Lebanon and the coastal parts of Syria and Northern Palestine, the Phoenicians were regarded as the rulers of the sea. They were known for their innovations in ship building, navigation (credited for the discovery of the pole star), for the alphabet and for insurance. They traded in commodities such as purple dye, glass, metals and olive oil, expanding their civilisation throughout the Mediterranean and trading on three continents. The word Phoenician is derived from the ancient Greek term phoinios, meaning purple.
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Today, historians believe that the Vikings set foot in North America before Christopher Columbus, others claim that the Phoenicians were the first sailors to discover the Americas. Some Phoenician style items have been found in the Americas and Portuguese archaeologists in the Azures, mid-way between the Old and the New World, claim to have found Phoenician temples and burial sites.
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The Phoenicians Before Columbus expedition is an adventure of discovery, seeking to endorse the Phoenicians place in history.
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