16-02-2018, 09:36 PM
The Basques were probably also crossing the Atlantic before Columbus. It's in their oral history.
Both the Viking and Basque whalers were stopping on Iceland and venturing far into the Arctic. What they did in those small ships is incredible by today's standards, and anyone who ventures far enough into the Arctic is going to touch Greenland from time to time. Once you get to Greenland, the distance to the North American coast is a short hop compared to the trip from Norway or the Pyrenees to Iceland.
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As for the "swamp water", medieval manuscripts are full of green water, as are thousands of natural spas all over Europe. A huge number of them have naturally green water. Glacier run-off water is often green, even when it gets all the way to the bottom of the mountain. Some of the natural thermal areas are also green.
And the sunflower? Africa is the birthplace of a huge proportion of the world's asters. It is FULL of them, all sizes and colors. Look up Gerbera (which originated in Africa):
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If you were to get up close and personal with some of the fancier Gerbera flowers and draw them in minute detail, some would come out like the VMS flowers. This is also true of some of the big Russian asters that resemble sunflowers. There are many possible explanations for the two plants that look like sunflowers in the VMS. The VMS is full of asters, so there's nothing surprising about finding two drawings of asters that are large and detailed.
Both the Viking and Basque whalers were stopping on Iceland and venturing far into the Arctic. What they did in those small ships is incredible by today's standards, and anyone who ventures far enough into the Arctic is going to touch Greenland from time to time. Once you get to Greenland, the distance to the North American coast is a short hop compared to the trip from Norway or the Pyrenees to Iceland.
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As for the "swamp water", medieval manuscripts are full of green water, as are thousands of natural spas all over Europe. A huge number of them have naturally green water. Glacier run-off water is often green, even when it gets all the way to the bottom of the mountain. Some of the natural thermal areas are also green.
And the sunflower? Africa is the birthplace of a huge proportion of the world's asters. It is FULL of them, all sizes and colors. Look up Gerbera (which originated in Africa):
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
If you were to get up close and personal with some of the fancier Gerbera flowers and draw them in minute detail, some would come out like the VMS flowers. This is also true of some of the big Russian asters that resemble sunflowers. There are many possible explanations for the two plants that look like sunflowers in the VMS. The VMS is full of asters, so there's nothing surprising about finding two drawings of asters that are large and detailed.