Representation of ancient city of Carthage at Carthage National Museum representation of city (Wikimedia Commons)
Ancient Tunisian Himilco: First-Known Explorer from the Mediterranean Sea to Reach Northwestern Europe
Himilco was an explorer and navigator who is the first voyager known to reach the shores of northwestern Europe from the Mediterranean Sea. Although his writings have been lost, Historian Johann Martin Lappenberg argued in his book, “A History of England Under the Anglo-Saxon Kings” that Himilco, a Carthaginian who was native to the ancient north African city of Carthage, which is located northeast modern-day Tunis, likely traveled to the islands of Albion and Ierne, or ancient Great Britain and Ireland. He also reached Oestriminis, or present-day Portugal, for trade according to Roman author Avienus.
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