America Before Columbus

Rixon Stewart

The Hidden History of the Promised Land

It may sound a little over the top but it’s really no overstatement to say that much in our modern world is based on falsehood and fabrication. We are told, for example, that Columbus ‘discovered’ America in 1492, yet there is plenty of evidence to suggest that others had visited America before Columbus: including visitors from ancient Egypt, Phoenicia and medieval Europe. Despite this modern authorities continue to push the line that “Columbus discovered America.”

In point of fact Columbus himself never even set eyes upon America; the closest he got to the mainland of North America was Puerto Rica. However in the aftermath of Columbus’s voyage John Cabot sailed from Bristol, England; which in turn opened the way for the first colony in Jamestown, Virginia and thus allowed the English to claim America as their own. Yet there is considerable evidence that suggests that others from different cultures preceded Cabot and Columbus. So one is forced to ask: why, when there is much to suggest that others from different cultures preceded Columbus, don’t we hear more about this possibility being investigated? Could it be that certain powers have a vested interest in keeping our real history under wraps?

Whatever the answer the fact remains that a great deal has been unearthed which is completely at odds with conventional notions regarding the origins of what we know today as America. In fact according to some contemporary authorities, the Native Americans encountered by the early settlers from England were not what they appeared to be. They were indeed native to the Americas but they were not its original inhabitants, who according to various tribal legends, had disappeared eons before in a series of cataclysms.

Of course this is so at odds with the dictates of modern science, history and archaeology that one would expect it to be rejected out of hand, as indeed it has been. This is not so easily done though with a landmark tower in Newport, Rhode Island. Curiously the tower is built in the style of a medieval look out and has been dated back to the fourteenth century. As if to emphasize its antiquity Italian navigator Giovanni de Verrazano recorded the tower whilst mapping the coastline in 1524, marking its location as an existing “Norman Villa”. Similar evidence can be found in Westford, Massachusetts, where a rock engraving can be found depicting a figure dressed like fourteenth century knight. Intriguingly the figure carries a shield portraying the emblem of a ship following a single star.

Of course this may simply be dismissed as a modern day hoax but this can’t be so easily done with Scotland’s Rosslyn Chapel; where clear depictions of ears of corn or maize and aloe cactus, both unknown in medieval Scotland, can be found on some of the archways and ceilings. These stone carvings are an integral part of the Chapel, which was only completed in 1486; that’s a full six years before Columbus is said to have embarked on his voyage of discovery. The standard line is that both maize and aloe cactus were only found after Columbus had sailed West. Thus, according to authors Knight and Lamar Rosslyn Chapel amounts to clear . . . “evidence that the men who instructed the masons of Rosslyn Chapel must have visited America at least a quarter of a century before Columbus.”

All of which prompts one to ask: if the actual discovery of the America’s could have been concealed for so long what more could be hidden? The answer to that, as you shall see, is a whole lot more.

These and other finds are given further credence by the very history of the Knights Templar. And it’s a history that adds an even more intriguing twist to the story of discovery of America. The Order of the Knights Templar was originally founded in Jerusalem in 1118, when nine French Knights asked King Baldwin to be allowed to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. Their request was granted and significantly they were also granted permission to stay in the ruins of Solomon’s Temple; for it was here, according to some researchers, that they made discoveries that would ultimately change the very course of history.

Once established in the ruins they began excavations that yielded untold treasures, both in terms of material wealth and even more precious knowledge. It was through this knowledge that the original Templar’s obtained an insight that allowed them to question much of orthodox Christianity. An insight through which they recognized that the established Church had misinterpreted much of the original Christian teaching: including the Virgin Birth, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and reincarnation. According to writer and researcher David Hatcher Childress: “To the Templars, the true church, one that taught mysticism, reincarnation and good works was being suppressed by a dark power that called itself the one true faith.”

And just in case you thought that Christianity never taught anything about reincarnation, take note: prior to the Council of Nicaea the idea of reincarnation was an integral part of the Christian faith. That ended however with the first Council of Nicaea in A.D.325. Convened by Emperor Constantine of Rome the Council effectively settled various theological disputes and ratified what was to become Holy Roman Law, the official version of the word of God. In the process the very notion of reincarnation as part of the Christian faith was consigned to the waste bin of history.

Armed with this new knowledge the power and influence of Order of the Knights Templar rapidly increased. By the mid thirteenth century the Order owned about nine thousand castles and manors across Europe. Along with material acquisition came a reputation that left many in Medieval Europe in awe. The Templar’s distinctive white surcoat, emblazoned with a red cross, was always seen in the thick of battle; indeed they quickly established a reputation comparable to modern fighting elites such as Britain’s SAS, the U.S. Marines and Airborne or Russia’s Spetnaz.

More than simply being a political and military power though they also became a force to be reckoned with in the fields of cultural and metaphysical endeavour too. For it was the Templar’s who instigated the first stonemasons guilds and introduced new building methods with skills inspired, in part, by what they had learned in Jerusalem. Prior to these European buildings had been built for practicality and defence; generally plain structures with little in the way of inspirational design but that too were about to change. In the space of a few decades, Europe saw the appearance of a string of new churches and cathedrals with high vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses and dazzling stained glass windows. All of which was to lay much of the groundwork for the future Renaissance and the Templar’s were very much the driving force behind it.

Yet by then the Templar’s power and influence had increased to such an extent that they were seen by Rome as a danger to itself, a challenge to the official word of God. So on Friday, October 13th, 1307 the Church of Rome made its move and at the same time bestowed on Friday 13th the sinister connotations which have remained ever since. With the blessing of Pope Clement V, King Philip of France drew up a list of charges against the Order; falsely accusing them of everything from homosexuality, abortion, necromancy and use of the black arts. On the dawn of Friday 13th his forces seized, interrogated, tortured and burned the captured Templars. Many escaped though, including the Templar Fleet, which sailed to safe haven in Scotland. At the time Scotland was ruled by Robert the Bruce and at odds with England so the Scots readily accepted help from anyone who was willing to offer it. In return the Knights Templar would play a critical role in the Battle of Bannockburn. Just as the Battle hung in balance the Scots, outnumbered two to one by the English, were suddenly reinforced by a contingent of mounted Knights; with long flowing beards and a bold red cross emblazoned on their white tunics the newcomers helped swing the battle in the Scot’s favour..

The Templar ships were not anchored for long in Scotland though; a large part of the fleet, consisting of 12 ships and over 300 men, sailed on across the Atlantic to take refuge in America.

America? You may ask, how did they know about America?

Well according to Knight and Lomas, the Masonic authors of The Hiram Key, the original Knights Templar may well have acquired key manuscripts whilst resident in Solomen’s Temple in Jerusalem. Amongst them manuscripts from the Mandaean sect which believed that John the Baptist was the true Messiah and that the souls of the good went to a land far across the sea, a wonderful land, a promised land marked by a star called . . . “Merica.” Which calls to mind the rock engraving of a medieval knight in Westford, Massachusetts; the engraved knight carries a shield portraying the emblem of a ship following a single shining star.



An engraved stone from the Burrows Cave find. Note the man's beard, a feature unknown among native Americans, and the sailing ship to his right



It is therefore quite possible that while resident in Solomen’s Temple the first Templar’s found reference to new lands across the sea as well as the name “le Merica.” Which in turn led their descendents to its fabled shores. As if to emphasize this recently discovered ruins in Patagonia revealed an ancient pier and docks dressed with stone slabs bearing the Templar cross. Which in turn has prompted some investigators to speculate that the Templar’s may have journeyed further south from North America.

Yet even if this was the case, then the Knight’s Templar were not the first, not even the first from Christian Europe, to visit America. Long before Columbus is supposed to have discovered the Americas Vikings and early Celtic Christians may well have trod the shores of North America, and before them others even more ancient. The discovery of various Roman coins around the U.S has led some researchers to conclude that America was the final destination for a wave of people who came not as colonists but as refugees. The coins, which have been found largely around the Mississippi-Arkansas-Ohio-Missouri river systems, cover the later periods of Rome and particularly the reigns of Antoninus Pius, Gallienus and Emperor Tetricus. A period of Roman rule that Gibbon describes as a time of “uninterrupted …confusion and calamity.” So it’s quite possible that these coins were left by what were in effect boat people seeking refuge from a disintegrating Empire.

What’s significant here though is the fact that these finds have not strictly been confined to the Mississippi-Arkansas-Ohio-Missouri river systems. Although largely confined to the vicinity of these river systems Roman coins have been found across North America: from Arkansas to Alabama, from Missouri to Oklahoma. Maybe, indicating a wave of refugees? Or, a series of exploratory ventures? Or maybe even both?



An engraved stone from Burrows Cave. Note the Roman style battering ram at the ship's prow.


True to form modern academia and its various experts have largely ignored these finds or simply brushed them aside as hoaxed. Thus dismissing such tantalising glimpses of the past as an Egyptian-minted Gallenius coin, found in a stream bed by Geology students near Black Mountain, North Carolina. Or the even more fascinating “Rio Grande Tablet.” Written in a style current in the Roman colony of Libya around 300AD, the tablet proffers a poignant insight into the past. Inscribed on it is a prayer to the Roman deity Mithras, dated the 6th year of an unnamed Emperor’s reign, a prayer that asks for aid and relief for a sick and lost party. Whether deserters or early explorers some researchers have concluded that the Rio Grande Tablet is the work of a lost Libyan detail of the Mithras worshipping Roman army.

The notion that elements from Rome’s Carthaginian colony in Libya may have visited America has been further underlined by the Burrow’s Cave find. Amongst the thousands of artefacts in the collection is the depiction of a Negroid face carved on a stone tablet in a distinctly Roman style. Predictably it has been virtually ignored by the various authorities. After all the idea that North African’s were visiting North America over a thousand years before Columbus challenges much of written history.

So Burrows cave has either been dismissed as a hoax or ignored by modern academia, yet in the words of Ancient American magazine it is the archaeological “discovery of the century.” The story of Burrows cave began in 1982 when Russell Burrows was out searching for American civil war artefacts in southern Illinois. Using a common metal-detector he claims to have discovered an underground chamber full of ancient artefacts. Numbering more than seven thousand the artefacts largely consist of stones inscribed with the portraits of ancient Egyptians, Carthaginians, Romans and Hebrews; many of which were inscribed with script resembling Phoenician or ancient Semitic writing. Although many of the relics found in Burrows Cave have been examined Burrows himself has not as yet revealed the exact location of his find, partly because of the derision that greeted his claims. However he has promised to reveal the exact location of the find in the near future and when he does we will update you.

In the meantime though it must be said that if you thought the idea of Knights Templar or even Romans in America was outlandish then we suggest that you take a deep breath. For as we researched this article the evidence emerged which is even more at odds with the conventional notions of American history. For while the ancient Americas may well have played host to many visitors from many different lands there is one in particular who stands out. An individual whose presence in America, if in fact he were there, is likely to shatter many beliefs: historical, cultural, metaphysical and religious.

Across the Americas, north and south, there are oral traditions and stories that are remarkably similar in overall theme. They tell of the coming of a pale man, some even say a white man; known variously as the Dawn God, the Peacemaker, the Pale One and the East Star Man: he was given this latter name because according to some stories he had come across the sea from the east. In other words he had come across what we know today as the Atlantic from either Europe or North Africa.

Whatever he was called though his arrival left a deep impression on those peoples and cultures he visited. Prior to his appearance some tribes in the America’s, more particularly in south or Central America, had practised blood sacrifice. The arrival of the Pale One, or Quetzalcoatl, as the Maya knew him, changed that. He taught new rituals and ceremonies some of which remain to this day; such as the smoking of sacred pipes, which for some tribes replaced blood sacrifice.

Apart from having pale skin he was also distinguished from the indigenous Americans by the fact that he was bearded, a facial feature that is unknown amongst Native Americans. Moreover he is said to have dressed completely differently from indigenous Americans, in long flowing robes and sandals

Some tribes called him the Son of the Great Spirit whilst others refer to him as the son of Yod-hey-vah. Sound familiar? Well this latter name was a phonetic pronunciation he taught as was the name he taught the Algonkin of the Great Lakes when they asked his name. He replied that names meant nothing to him; so they then asked what he was named in childhood when he had lived across the waters. That name, which even today they struggle to pronounce was, he told them: Chee-Zoos, God of the Dawn Light.

The parallels between what is written in the Bible and the stories told by various Native American peoples are uncannily similar. For example, the tribes of Oklahoma tell of a man they call the Healer, who chose from amongst the native people twelve disciples. He told them that he was born across the ocean, in a land where all men were bearded. In this land he was born of a virgin on a night when a bright star shone in the heavens. And, as if to celebrate his birth the heavens opened and down came winged beings of great beauty chanting in praise of Chee Zoos, God of the Dawn Light.



Engraving from the Burrows Cave find.



Likewise the Dacootah recall the coming of the pale faced Healer. According to them his name remains sacred and during his time with them he taught rites of purification and . . . baptism.

In the same way the Tribes around the Great Lakes speak of the coming of the Prophet; a pale, bearded man who was, according to their tribal elders, the son of the Great Spirit. A Prophet who appeared to them as a white man and who could heal the lame and sick with his touch.

Their medicine men say that: “all that he touched was enchanted with His god-like power of healing.”And that . . . “He came alone. He organized the churches, changed the temples, taught the priesthood.”

Elsewhere, across the America’s there are similar tales and they all tell the same story: of a god-like white man who travelled across the America’s teaching and healing. At the time of his arrival legend has it that there was a great city situated where the Missouri and the Mississippi run to the Southern sea. One morning it is said that the Prophet came there in a long boat, used by the traders. “The streets,” the old legends say, “were covered with flowers strewn in homage on the path before Him as He walked toward the Temple.”

All of which is reminiscent Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the week before he was crucified, when adoring crowds spread palm leaves before his approaching steps. The Native stories continue:

“Greatly beloved now was the Pale God, known as the Lord of the Wind and the Water. His every move bespoke his kindness: His very touch revealed His Divinity; and before Him all the people bowed down. Through the rows of worshippers He moved …in quiet solemnity, holding up His hand in blessing – that hand with the strange palm marking, for through it was engraved the True Cross which He had taken as His Symbol”.

He stayed for some time, say the legends: “though often he rode away with the merchants, or more often walked to distant villages, holding in His hand His great staff, and stopping to speak with all the people, from the aged to the little children.”

Of course you may object that these are only stories, the legends and tales of a simple and unsophisticated people. And of course you are right, but it doesn’t end there because these stories have been partly substantiated by artefacts found within or in the vicinity of mounds built by the ancestors of modern Native Americans.

The so-called Mound Builders flourished in North America between 200 B.C. and 500 AD. Little is known about them except that they built earthen mounds, often in the shape of birds and animals. With the arrival of settlers from Europe many of these mounds were levelled to make way for new farmland. In the process the mounds and their contents were scattered or ploughed under; then in the early 19th century strange relics were unearthed as new roads were built and forests cleared, and this occurred largely around Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, areas of much previous mound building.

Amongst the relics recovered have been engraved depictions of the crucifixion and other biblical motifs. Yet despite the fact that many of these discoveries were accompanied by sworn affidavits and written testimony the archaeological authorities of the day largely dismissed them as “fakes.” A response that continues to this day.

We honestly don’t know whether Christ was physically located in the Americas or simply made an appearance, so to speak, spiritually and thereby inspired the stories, artefacts and inscriptions. Or indeed whether they were inspired by the tales of long forgotten Christian missionaries. Certainly Rudolph Steiner spoke of initiates and mystics around the planet being aware of the events in Palestine at the time of the crucifixion. So this proposition is certainly a possibility but whatever the real explanation it offers a fascinating alternative view of history and Christianity itself.

What’s more, as individuals, we may soon be able to explore this possibility for ourselves. According to various tribes, before his departure, the East Star Man said that one day he would return, not in body but in spirit. At this time, he said, the world would be a dark place where evil would reign, however, the pure in heart would perceive his return. In other words what he is said to have told Native Americans is exactly what modern Christians would understand as the “second coming.” So if you can lift your head up from the feeding trough of consumer society, or the conveyor belt called work, you may just notice something in the air.

Sources include: www.wolflodge.org, Rule By Secrecy by Jim Marrs, publ: Harper Collins. The Hiram Key by C. Knight and R. Lomas, publ: Barnes and Noble Books, New York. He walked the Americas, Taylor Hansen, publ: Legend Press, Amherst, Wisconsin. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon. Ancient American magazine no. 26 & 33.

Last updated 01/09/2006