9 as 'Leif Erikson Day.'ġ5th Century - The Chinese: This theory is espoused by a small group of scholars and amateur historians led by Gavin Menzies, a retired British Naval officer. During the next seven years, the Ingstads and an international team of archaeologists exposed the foundations of eight separate buildings. That year, Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, unearthed an ancient Norse settlement. But until 1960, there was no proof of Erikson's American sojourns. This much had long been known from the Icelandic sagas. Relations with native North Americans were described as hostile. Erikson and his crew didn't stay long - only a few years - before returning to Greenland. Around the year 1000 A.D., the Viking explorer Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, sailed to a place he called 'Vinland,' in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland. He eventually landed in Canada.ġ0th Century - The Vikings: The Vikings' early expeditions to North America are well documented and accepted as historical fact by most scholars. Severin built the Brendan, an exact replica of a sixth-century currach, and sailed along a route described by the traveling monks. In 1976, writer Tim Severin set out to prove that such a journey was possible. But there is no evidence that he ever made landfall in North America. Brendan was a real historical figure who traveled extensively in Europe. His alleged journey is detailed in the ancient annals of Ireland. A sixth-century Irish monk named Saint Brendan supposedly sailed to North America on a currach - a wood-framed boat covered with animal skin. Sixth Century - Irish Monks: This 'theory' is actually more of a legend. Here are a few of the more prominent ones: Was Christopher Columbus first? A host of competing theories say no.

Gavin menzies theory