Did the ancient Romans ever visit America before Columbus?

Question: Did the ancient Romans ever visit America before Columbus!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

It is possible!.

Though there is no reference in any ancient text to Romans sailing beyond the Azores it is possible that a Roman merchant vessel could have been blown across the Atlantic to the coast of the Americas!.

The most likely path across the Atlantic would have been between Brazil and the Libyan coast in Africa!. This is the shortest direct route and would be hastened by the summer winds from the Sahara as well as the current!.

A modern sailing ship under these conditions can make the journey in just over 2 weeks!. Given the limited navigation skills of Roman era sailors they could very easily loose their bearings and continue on a course towards South America, thinking in fact they were sailing towards the Azores or the Cape Verde islands!.

As for the ability of Roman ships to cross the Atlantic, they were certainly sturdy enough!. triremes were only suitable for warfare and to often met their demise in rough seas, however smaller merchant vessels were better suited for long distance travel, needing only a small crew and could take advantage of a movable ballast in the cargo!.
Many modern experiments have been made to test the seaworthiness of ancient vessels and though their sail rigging was not very advanced, most crafts would be capable of long distance travel!.

The only plausible evidence for any Romans in the Americas is from scattered finds of coins and small items, which could be planted or simply have been carried and lost by later people!. However one find of a possible shipwreck in Guanabara Bay has turned up some interesting finds!.

The site was investigated by Robert Marx, and he sent a piece of pottery thought to be from the neck of an amphora to the University of London for testing!. The results found that the pottery was fired around 19BC and made from clay from Morocco!.

I do think it is possible that Romans could have stumbled upon America!. However, it is ludicrous to think that Roman explorers looked for land across the Atlantic or anyone at this point in history would venture in hopes of settling unknown lands!.

*There is not a lot of literature on this topic, and it is not a common area of interest amongst scholars, however here are a few books and internet sites that can be of use!.
Cary, M!., Warmington, E!.H!., 1963 The Ancient Explorers, Penguin Books!.
Casson, Lionel, 1995, Ships and Seamanship in Ancient Times, British Museum Press!.
http://www!.freerepublic!.com/focus/f-news!.!.!.
http://www!.thetruthseeker!.co!.uk/article!.!.!.!.
http://paranormal!.about!.com/library/week!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

If they sailed north of Britain and stuck to the coast of Greenland it is conceivable that they could technically have made the journey!. It would really be more a matter of having enough on-board supplies rather than their ships not being able to make the crossing!. However, there is no evidence to suggest they ever did this, that they attempted it, or that they would even conceive it as possible!. The Romans viewed the Atlantic as an absolute boundary to the world!. In their version of the cosmos, there could be nothing beyond the ocean, so why would they sail out that way!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

It's very unlikely!. Anyone sailing due west from Spain or Gaul would run straight into the roaring forties!. It wasn't till the Portugese opened up the coast of Africa that the Trade Winds were discovered, which Columbus used to get across!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It is generally accepted that Vikings or Nordsmen were here before Columbus, but I can say fairly certainly that there is not indication of Ancient Romans having come to North America!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No, they wanted land surrounding their territory!. It would have been to hard to control the land over there!. That is why they gained land around their already existing territory!Www@QuestionHome@Com

No!. No evidence suggests that they did!. also their boats probably couldn't sail that far over open ocean!.Www@QuestionHome@Com