Egyptians in the New World?

[Sean Manning]

I think that Punic, Greek, and Roman timidity as seafarers is often exaggerated. The Greeks spent more time hearing the Odyssey than Hesiod's rants; and when Ballard, Oleson, et al. explored Skerki Bank they found 5 Roman shipwrecks in deep water (the bank is on the direct sea route from Ostia to Carthage that some writers allude to; its also on a natural route from Hispania and the Straits to the east). I'm not so well informed on the Atlantic, but there must have been a significant amount of trade (the Venetii wouldn't have needed those big, tall-sided ships with strong oak hulls if they weren't sailing somewhere!)