Exclusive: New Evidence Ancient Romans May Have Made It to Oak Island, Canada

What appears to be an ancient Roman sword has been found off the East Coast of Canada, and it is just one of several indications that Romans were there around 200 A.D.

Oak Island, Nova Scotia, in August 1931. (Richard McCully/Public Domain) Artifacts found on or around Oak Island with possible connections to the ancient Roman Empire. Courtesy of J. Hutton Pulitzer/InvestigatingHistory.org

What appears to be an ancient Roman sword has been found off the East Coast of Canada, and it is just one of several indications that Romans may have been there around the 2nd century or earlier. That’s at least 800 years before the Vikings landed, which is currently believed to be the first contact between the Old World and the New World.

The sword was discovered off the coast of Oak Island, Nova Scotia, during investigations into local lore of treasure buried on the island, conducted as part of the immensely popular History Channel show, “The Curse of Oak Island.”

A map showing Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Norman Einstein/CC BY-SA