THE VOYAGES OF THE VENETIAN BROTHERS NICOLO & ANTONIO ZENO TO THE NORTHERN SEAS IN THE XIVTH CENTURY Richard Henry Major (trans.), Masonic Publishing Company, Helensburgh, 2004. Hardback, cii and 64 pages plus maps, £22.50. ISBN 0-9544268-2-7. Publisher: telephone 01436 672900; email macash@btinternet.com.

No one now seriously believes that Columbus was the first European to reach the Americas. The Romans were there - a statue and amphorae were recovered from a shipwreck in Rio de Janeiro harbour, Roman coins were found on the coast of Venezuela, a statue of a bearded European was excavated in central America. It is well accepted that the Vikings crossed from Greenland to hunt, fish and trade in Canada. How far south did they go? To the Gulf of Mexico?
    Thor Heyerdahl in his American Indians in the Pacific showed a coloured wall-painting from Chitzen Itza depicting a sea battle between dark-skinned Mayans and fair-skinned invaders with long blond hair. Such data has made us open to the possibility of contact across the Atlantic long before the ‘official’ dates.
    The Zeno narrative explains: at some time during the 14th century a fisherman had been fishing in the Atlantic and storms had driven him to an unknown land. He was taken to the king of that land, and, in time, moved to the south-west where he found large cities and temples with cults involving human sacrifice. Eventually, the fisherman managed to make his way back to Europe, where he made contact with the Lord of the Northern Isles, Sir Henry St. Clair who, with visiting Venetian traders, Antonio and Niccolo Zeno, gathered a fleet and travelled across the Atlantic themselves. The narrative was later compiled from reports sent back to Venice by Antonio Zeno and held in the family archives.
    When this was first published in the nineteenth century it was adjudged to be fraudulent. It was, of course, running into the prevailing paradigm - that Columbus discovered America. We know better now. In particular, I was struck by the idea of a ‘king’ in America since we now have much more information about the Cahokia ‘mound-builder’ urban culture based near St Louis. They built roads to the Atlantic coast and maintained outposts there. The culture was centrally and dynastically ruled - by a ‘king’ in other words.
    I recommend this book to all who like an intriguing story. It really needs someone to do some detailed research on it; could that be one of our readers?
    Michael Baigent