America BC: Ancient Settlers in the New World

by Barry Fell

Presents evidence indicating the early settlement of regions of North America by Celts, Iberians, Basques, Phoenicians, Libyans, and Egyptians

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Historical, Anthropology, Ancient History, American History

347 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, to me, was a rather incredible book given its author's claims that North America was regularly visited by Europeans during the Bronze and Iron Ages. The focus is on the Celts, Celts ranging from the British isles to the Strait of Gibralter, Celts sometimes associated with Phoenician navigators.

The evidence for this claim is impressive. There are physical traces of three types. First there are the bronze items found in Amerindian burial sites. Tin supposedly not being available in useable form in these areas, the bronze implies oceanic trade. Second, there are stone structures similar to ones on the European continent employed, apparently, for religious and calendrical purposes. Third, there are shaped stones, again with European analogues, most of which have an association with fertility magic. Fourth, and most importantly, there are the inscriptions on many of the stones and structures, most of which are in early the early Ogam script employed by the Celts. In addition to these physical traces there are other, less tangible, ones such as similarities between European and Amerindian languages.

Profusely illustrated, this book seems to make a strong case for its main claim, though many of the details of interpretation are debatable. Most questionable are the translations of the supposed Ogam inscriptions.

Early Ogam, like ancient Hebrew, displayed no vowels, so the reading of it is problematic. Since most of the inscriptions are short, context is of little help. Here I think the author gets carried away, giving readings with a tone of certainty which the evidence doesn't sufficiently substantiate.

[Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of how Ogham was deciphered. Ogham is written script sketched on rocks, caves,and bluff lines found in America. Ogham is an ancient Irish alphabet written in lines. Because of the method used by Mr Valancey, professionals have employed these tatics to decipher other unsolved languages as well. This is the story of Charles Valancey.

He began to pursue the study of Archeology of Ireland by tracking down and teaching himself to read ancient Gaelic, being "self taught" in which at that time there where no colleges or "authorities" on the subject of ogham.

He began his investigations by examining and translating Irish Manuscripts that he as able to locate at libraries. One of the manuscripts he happened to purchase was a copy of an early Irish poem entitled "The Batttle of Gabhra" dealing with an event said to happen around the yr 283 AD. The certain part that aroused Vallancey's curiosity was as passage about a "Ferocious Warrior" Conan, where he was said to have been slain in battle and his grave was made on the dark mountain of Callan.

He happened to know a fellow student that lived in that area and sent a letter. Mr Valancey asked his friend to search for this stone to see if it had any letters on it. His name was Theophilus O'Flannagan, thats Irish as it gets !

Theophilus O'Flannagan agreed, upon making his climb Theophilus did find such a grave site without markings. Returning to a peasants village, a local individual confided in him that there was another monument on the other side of the mountain about a mile away. Fully Confident and refreshed he embarked on making the trip, he did discover a large stone of the same type with an inscription! Oh the Excitement, when Mr Vallancey recieved word of this, he immediately wrote to the Society of Antiquaries announcing it in the yr 1784.

Naturally there where the normal critics and as time went on all false charges where eventually shown to be baseless and others began to search for ogham. From this event, a milestone had been reached. From Mr Valancey's pioneer work of linking archived manuscripts to known artifacts proved to be most useful. His work showed that the key to deciphering an unknown script in an unknown language lies in researching all possible avenues of information with a view to discovering a bilingual example such as the Rosetta Stone.

From that time on all scrambled to look for an inscription in which a known writing system is found with a "parrallel" version in an unknown language. In other words, an artifact with dual lauguages viritually saying the same thing provided clues and or letter to build on. As time went on more advances where made in understanding other inscriptions by using certain known peoples of royality. A magistrate or Prince would have identifiers such as all upper case letters, or distinguished by "special marks". Other methods where used as well such as finding coins with inscriptions in two languages.

Ogam has been found in America BC in many states such as Vermont, New Hampshire, New Mexico, along the Rio Grand River,etc. Majority of the time it is along the ancient highway Rivers. This Documents that there where many peoples that have dicovered America before Columbus.

Here are a few extra links on this interesting subject.

More can be reviewed from Barry Fells book "America BC".

http://ogham.lyberty.com/oghamintro.html

http://www.equinox-project.com/ogamsc...

http://www.ancient.eu.com/Rosetta_Stone/

[Kitap · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting and heavily illustrated contrarian look at American prehistory, drawing all sorts of unusual (and unwarranted?) conclusions from evidence that mostly looks to my untutored eye like tally marks engraved on stones. Amongst these conclusions are that ancient Phoenicians, Libyans, and Celts established colonies in the Americas, ranging from New England and Oklahoma in North America to Paraguay in South America. You wouldn't suspect it from his confident tone, but (according to the Wikipedia article on Fell) he was and is viewed as a "pseudo-archaeologist" by many of those in the field (for what that is worth--see Thomas Kuhn, Robert Anton Wilson, and others on the hazards of group-think in the sciences). The Wikipedia article goes on to cite archaeologist David Kelley to the effect that there is evidence of a pre-Columbian European presence in the Americas and that as much as Fell might have played it up, mainstream archaeologists have ignored it. Is the Zuni language derived from ancient Libyan? Did the native Algonquin peoples intermarry with Celtic colonists? Perhaps further research will help discern the truth from interesting speculations.

[Brad Belschner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not convinced the European presence in North America was nearly as extensive as Barry Fell implies. I'd like to see more research on this subject.

From Wikipedia:
To quote David H. Kelley, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary who is credited with a major breakthrough in the decipherment of Mayan glyphs, complained about Fell in a 1990 essay: "Fell's work [contains] major academic sins, the three worst being distortion of data, inadequate acknowledgment of predecessors, and lack of presentation of alternative views." In the same essay, however, Kelley went on to state that "I have no personal doubts that some of the inscriptions which have been reported are genuine Celtic ogham." Kelley concluded: "Despite my occasional harsh criticism of Fell's treatment of individual inscriptions, it should be recognized that without Fell's work there would be no [North American] ogham problem to perplex us. We need to ask not only what Fell has done wrong in his epigraphy, but also where we have gone wrong as archaeologists in not recognizing such an extensive European presence in the New World."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Fe...

[Daniel Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of pictures make up for the slow reading technicalese so it doesn't get unbearable. Interesting tidbits here and there that true scientists should not wave away derisively. Yes, Fell has his point of view and is overconfident of it. Several alternative views that screamed out even to this untrained eye:

1) Fell admits the "writing" has been mistaken for plow marks on stone, meaning the letters are no more than scratches. Couldn't two cultures have developed such a simple scheme independently?
2) He admits he had at least 16 possible translation keys, and since vowels were conveniently missing he could insert whichever ones he want. Is it surprising he found some translation that was semi-legible? (Even these he often uses "could be" or "might be", showing he is stretching)
3) Sometimes he reads them left to right, others right to left. Others appear to have been written in circles or other random order. Again, given any starting orientation is it surprising he could make a match?
4) Biggest one of all, he states the similarities in Europe and America shows Europeans influenced America BC. Couldn't, using the exact same evidence, one argue no, it proves Americans influenced Europe BC!

It is important people like Fell are allowed to present their evidence. Read it for yourself, try to look past the jumping to conclusion, and make your own opinion. And realize you need to do this with your "mainstream" science textbooks too!

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book reads like a story of exploration and adventure. The cracking of old languages and their stories have always been fascinating to read for me. Fell's careful steps in describing the celtic and phonicean explorations and settlements in America is exciting. His recounting the naval battle Ceasar faced in Gaul was spot on considering most people don't consider the Celts as having any type of navy. I had just finished reading the "Conquest of Gaul" by Ceasar not even a few months ago and it dawned on me then that it was fascinating that they had a navy so capable. I had totally forgotten it though until I reread it in America BC. I believe that America is ripe for a reinvestigation into our Ancient History. The era of anything before 1492 is clearly of Indian origin (which has always smacked of the ludicrous to me) is at an end. We, as well as the Indians, should revel in our history together and look at it with a critical eye.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written book that challenges mainstream history books. It's premise actually makes more sense than the current popular view: that ancient seafaring peoples (Celts, Iberians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, etc) have been visiting North America long before Columbus or Leif Erikson. This book is not based in theory, it's based on the findings of the author and his colleagues: inscriptions, structures and other archeological evidence that is frankly, hard to deny. This topic may seem strange or unbelievable but it will expand your historical understanding of human migration if you are willing to consider the evidence.

[Coleen Dailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the original version of this book, published in 1976. I find it very interesting to think that people from Europe and Africa may have travelled to the Americas 2000 or so years prior to Columbus. He had a lot of interesting photos, sketches and tables comparing languages from Europe to here. I would like to read updates on this subject.

[B. Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Great information and enough science and evidence to make a case without confusing or boring the reader. This should be taught in every high school and college in America. I suggest everybody in America read this book.

[Tim Lathrop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book that ruined my settled perspective on the origins of America. Lots of details. Written for a scientific mind which is sometimes overwhelming. What an amazing scavenger hunt! Book of Ballymote!! Awesome research!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a phenomenal book that crafts together a nearly unassailable case using scores of rock solid archaeological, epigraphic and linguistic evidence, from megaliths, Celtic carvings, ancient Astronomical observation sites and European calendar systems, Ogham script along with Punic Phoenician script engravings and even Egyptian Hieroglyphs all found in the United States, showing that there was a definite European & Mediterranean/North African presence in North America nearly 3,000 years before Columbus. Fell also convincingly shows that the so-called "Indian Mounds" are Celtic, and that the Algonquian and other Native American languages are derivative of the European/Punic/Semitic languages. The evidence amassed in the book is absolutely impressive, and it's hard to imagine that anyone could doubt Fell's thesis unless they're just terribly ignorant of linguistics, epigraphy, and history ... in which case a more basic book to build a knowledge base first would be a better start than this book from Fell. But this is an excellent, praiseworthy book that will definitely come in handy when I'm teaching early and ancient North American history.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book puts forth the very plausible thesis that ancient mariners from Europe and North Africa were successful navigators a thousand and more years before Columbus. The evidence is in typical structures of the Basque and Celtic peoples in New England and elsewhere, but most importantly, in the written languages, some of them recently deciphered, of the Celts, Iberians, Libyans and Egyptians, carved in stone in many locations around the U.S. east coast, the American heartland, and the southwest. The spoken language of the Zuni tribe of New Mexico appears to be a direct descendant of Libyan. There are many photographs and illustrations, and an appendix titled "Cracking the Code." I found it fascinating. There may be too much detail for some readers, but I think the big picture will be of general interest.

[Kass Hund · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very transparent and honest look into the archaeological finds of the United States, and how the evidence points to much more ancient settlements than we are ever taught about in school. It’s easy this day and age to see how discoveries that don’t fit the accepted narrative of our history are discarded, because there is always fear of ridicule and lost funding within academia, which should be our source of true information but often only props up what has become our accepted worldview. This is a really fascinating and easily accessible book to introduce a new paradigm of thinking about our past in this country and our earlier connections to the old world!

[Olivia Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing evidence that Celts, Iberians, and Nubians have been here centuries before Christ. There are great code cracking tables of Ogam, Nubian, and other scripts found on stones in New England and Central America. The analyses of Mystery Hill says it all, and the comparison of the Algonquian (Micmac and Egyptian nearly identical) Zuni, and Pima tribes language origins with Semitic Languages

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book with an open mind. What if Columbus merely re-established long-standing connections between this continent and the rest of the world? Like Morpheus, Barry Fell holds open the door to understanding reality... But fortunately for us, it is far more fascinating than dystopian.

[Joe White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: this book has some interesting ideas put forth by the author as an accumulated aggregation of ideas.The author has enough credentials both academically and professionally to deserve to be allowed to state his views and to have those ideas independently investigated. The historical sequences stated for the European background material pretty consistently appear to be correct as to a timeline-historical actions or events. Just doing Google research, and having read a few books on nautical history, the Mediterranean is very well documented. The Spanish and Portuguese coastal activity and ship types receive very little attention and almost no detailed documentation. Phoenician ships in general don't get the detailed attention given to Greek, Egyptian, and later Roman ships. Obviously some were used on the Atlantic coast from Spain to Britain and into the North Atlantic coasts and Baltic seas. There was a documented expedition ordered by an Egyptian Pharaoh Necho around 600 BC, which circumnavigated Africa from East to West. In a recent recreation of this event, the replica Phoenician ship crew targeted the Azores for their turn to the East to head back into the Mediterranean. One of the leaders of the crewed expedition stated that they could have chose a different set of currents and trade winds and followed part of the Southern Atlantic Columbus route to the Americas. However, these were contemporary navigators with charting, electronics, and contemporary supplies based on contemporary knowledge of dietary requirements for a voyage. Earlier voyagers would have had to develop that knowledge gradually or been very lucky on a one shot try to find new routes. The Earth's relative size had been fairly accurately estimated, but the information might not have been well disseminated for normal use. Atlantic seasonal weather and currents wasn't as well research as it is today.

Back to the book :
Cons: While the European facts presented appear to be valid and accurate, particularly as to citations of known timed events, the American evidence presented was somewhat sketchy. This is almost like reading 2 separate books co-mingled into one volume. As you read along in a textual presentation, you are suddenly presented with annotated photos and plate depictions that often don't match up to what the text is presenting at that point. It was a distraction away from the main text.

As to the presentation of evidence, I noted that nearly all the stone carvings pictured were photos of casts with no actual photo of the original source in its context. Even if the original stone were part of a collection, I think it would have added strength to an argument for legitimate claims to let the reader see the source material. There were several hand drawn depictions representing side-by-side comparisons of how carved letters on the American stone should match to corresponding known translations of carved text from Europe. In many cases, the identity of the American carvings required a stretch of interpretation make the match-up.

Only epigraphic evidence was presented. There were several photos of dolmens and the stone chambers in Vermont. Archeology usually requires artifacts and carbon dating of source material in stratified layers, in order to lend the ability to make suggested hypothesis and support arguments.

40 years after this book's publication, I don't know of any shipwrecks, amphora, or pottery inscriptions that support the contention of European merchant ships in American waters. The shipping container of the ancient world was the amphora. If a fleet or sequence of trading ships were plying waters regularly, then there should have been some evidence of at least one of these being recovered in an archeological dig, whether on land or as part of a marine salvage. If Monhegan Island, ME were a trading port, then it should have lots of these with evidence of oil, wine, and grain from Southern Europe, Egypt, or North Africa. Ships that made it to North America would have been exchanging these as trade goods for whatever was being trans-shipped. Otherwise the boat would have been using ballast material which should be evident as unusual piles of non-indigenous rock. I've never seen any evidence for either of these types of proof.

Today's DNA research seems to be destroying claims of ancestry. If the current populations represent replacements, then skeletal remains will be required for DNA research, and in the US, there is a particular opposition to skeletal DNA investigation. This sounds like a conspiracy to suppress knowledge, however so few skeletons and artifacts are reported that there may not be enough source material to generate a strong controversy.

Overall this book presents interesting concepts thrown out by an educated author writing a popular format book targeted to a large mass of readers. The author didn't attempt to use sensationalists material or explanations, but he did draw a lot of material from a relatively small circle of individuals, who may have been attempting to generate facts to support a reasoned conclusion, which may not be correct.

[Kelley Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

One more step in the education of my self. I'd started with the summary in Reader's Digest and was so captivated I had to read the whole thing. Lots of good stuff there.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

B+. A very interesting book about early visitor to this continent.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing history-book-changing facts! Sorry Chris Columbus, but you are out as the discoverer of the new world (by at least one millennium or more), and we need to scrap the Columbus Day holiday!

[Wil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry for me

[Francesco Rando]

I just got my copy...will update with a review once completed.

[Anna Kehoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, original, surprising. I have visited some of the sites in Vermont. Early Sites org is now NEARA.org which has pivoted from Fell's point of view to examining indigenous peoples' work.

[Victoria Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening

[Julz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and thought provoking read.

[Merko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very interesting read if you like history. The much of unknown/un-taught history of America is covered in detail.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not everyone would agree that this classic is history. Fell interprets a number of 'ruins' as evidence that ancient Europeans visited N. America long before Columbus. When this was first published it was considered heretical, but since then a number of books have been published that suggest that there were many visits from Europe and, even perhaps, China to this continent in ancient times. these remain outside mainstream history but you get the sense that even there, a sea change is about to occur

[Daniel Callister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun read, especially living in NH and so close to all the sites he and others investigate in this book. I'm pretty skeptical of a lot of his theories, and you definitely need to have an open mind to enjoy this book, but I found it to be an incredibly fun and interesting read. After you read this, I would highly recommend reading Vermont's Stone Chambers: An Inquiry Into Their Past by Giovanna Neudorfer. It is a historic and scientific survey of the stone chambers in VT and, honestly I am now quite convinced that the stone chambers are colonial.

[Inis Fal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely outstanding book! Barry Fell bring to light the amazing history of pre-colonial America and archaeological evidence missing from every history and text book in this country. Every page is laced with the thrill of discovery and amazing evidence of ancient civilizations coming to these shores, from Celtic Ogam to Iberian Punic, to Egyptian and Basque influence as well. Well written, and well worth the read, especially for any and all linguists out there interested in the connections between ancient and modern languages! This book is invaluable!

[Daniel Callister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun read, especially living in NH and so close to all the sites he and others investigate in this book. I'm pretty skeptical of a lot of his theories, and you definitely need to have an open mind to enjoy this book, but I found it to be an incredibly fun and interesting read. After you read this, I would highly recommend reading Vermont's Stone Chambers: An Inquiry Into Their Past by Giovanna Neudorfer. It is a historic and scientific survey of the stone chambers in VT and, honestly I am now quite convinced that the stone chambers are colonial.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that gives evidence for the pre-Columbian presence of Europeans and Africans in North America; his views are still considered radical, but I've run into similar statements even in some recent school textbooks, so things do move slowly forward.