Christopher Columbus landed in what is now the Bahamas in 1492. But was he the first non-indigenous person to reach the Americas?

　　克里斯托弗·哥伦比亚(Christopher Columbus)1492年登上了现在的巴哈马群岛。但他真的是第一个到达美洲的非土著人吗?

　　Over the years several radical theories have emerged that the Vikings, the Polynesians and the Chinese, arrived bore Columbus.

　　多年来，几个激进理论相继出现，纷纷表示在哥伦比亚抵达美洲之前，维京人、波西尼亚人和中国人就已经到过了。

　　Now, a new group of researchers has come up with another controversial theory; they say the Romans set foot in the New World more than a thousand years earlier.

　　如今，新的研究小组得出了一个有争议的理论。他们说，罗马人早在一千年前就踏入了这个新世界。

　　Researchers, led by Jovan Hutton Pulitzer, claim they have evidence that Roman ships visited North America 'during the first century or earlier.'

　　约文·赫顿·普利策(Jovan Hutton Pulitzer)带领的研究小组称，他们有证据表明，罗马的船只在公元一世纪或更早之前就抵达了北美。

　　Their theory centres on the discovery of what they believe to be a Roman sword on Oak Island, off Nova Scotia.

　　他们的理论以新斯科舍(Nova Scotia)旁橡树岛(Oak Island，又名“奥克岛”)上发现的罗马剑为中心(橡树岛距离新斯科舍省东海岸3英里)。

　　Mainstream historians usually dismiss these finds as inaccurate, claiming artacts such as this can be dropped by collectors in modern times, according to theThe Boston Standard.

　　据《波士顿旗帜报》(The Boston Standard)报道，主流历史学家认为这类发现通常是不准确的，他们称，这样的文物可能是现代收藏家掉落在那里的。

　　Scientists are currently unable to rule this out as a possibility, shedding doubt on these claims.

　　目前，科学家们并不能排除这种可能性，对这些发现也仍然存在质疑。

　　普利策的报告还详细阐述了一些原住民在新斯科舍省洞穴墙壁上雕刻的图像。他认为其中有些刻的是罗马退役军人游行的场面。

　　Oak Island has been at the centre of one of the biggest treasure hunts in history, which began in in 1795.

　　橡树岛曾是历史上最大寻宝运动的重要基地，该寻宝游戏始于1795年。

　　The History Channel's series 'Curse of Oak Island' reveals how researchers are attempting to discover the island's long-held secret.

　　历史频道的系列节目《橡树岛的诅咒》(Curse of Oak Island)揭示了研究人员如何尝试去发现这个岛屿长久以来的秘密。

　　Jovan Hutton Pulitzer, who has featured on the show, has now put together a paper detailing his discovery.

　　如今，曾出现在电视节目里的约文·赫顿·普利策已在论文中详述了他的发现。

　　The paper has been exclusively seen by Johnston Press, and was written with the help of researchers from the Ancient Artifact Preservation Society.

　　他的论文是在古文物保护协会研究人员的帮助下完成的，将由约翰·斯顿出版社(Johnston Press)独家发表。

　　Pulitzer claims the sword is '100 per cent confirmed' and described it as the 'smoking gun' to his theory.

　　普利策称，已确认这把剑100%是真品，并成为了他理论的“确凿证据”。

　　'The ceremonial sword came out of that shipwreck,' he told The Boston Standard. 'It is one incredible Roman artact.'

　　“这把仪式剑是在一艘沉船上发现的，”他对《波士顿旗帜报》说道。“它是一件精制的罗马手工艺品。”

　　He bases this on studies of his the artacts metallic properties which match those of other ancient Roman artacts.

　　他将这个文物的金属属性与古罗马其他手工艺品做了对比，并以此为研究基础。

　　'It has the same arsenic and lead signature in it. We've been able to test this sword against another one like it and it matches,' he said.

　　他说：“剑上砷和铅的材质相似。我们将这把剑与另一把相似的剑作了对比，结果两把剑是吻合的。”

　　Pulitzer's report also details a number of Mi'kmaq carved images by indigenous people drawn on cave walls in Nova Scotia.

　　普利策的报告还详细阐述了一些原住民在新斯科舍省洞穴墙壁上雕刻的图像。

　　Some of these images show what Pulitzer believes to be Roman legionnaires.

　　他认为，其中有些是罗马退役军人游行的场面。

　　Carved stones on Oak Island also 'possess a language from the ancient Levant' according to Pulitzer.

　　在普利策看来，橡树岛上的石刻上还有些出自古老的黎凡特语言。

　　Other findings include a Roman legionnaire's whistle found on Oak Island in 1901, a Roman shield 'boss' and a small Roman head sculpture found in Mexico City in 1933.

　　此前也有一些类似发现，包括1901年橡树岛上找到的一个罗马士兵口哨，以及1933年在墨西哥城发现的罗马盾牌“老板”和一个小罗马雕像。

　　Gold Carthage coins have also been discovered on the mainland near Oak Island.

　　黄金迦太基硬币也是在橡树岛附近的大陆上被发现。

　　Another clue, in his report, is the presence of an invasive species of plant which was once used by Romans.

　　在普利策的报告中，另一条线索是橡树岛上出现了外来物种入侵，它们是罗马人曾使用过的植物。

　　The team plans to publish its report early next year.

　　该研究小组计划于2017年年初发布报告。

　　Some historians believe that it wasn't the Romans, but the Vikings that arrived bore Columbus.

　　有些历史学家则认为那不是罗马人，而是在哥伦比亚之前到达的维京人。

　　They point to historical documents indicating that Li Erikson, a famous Viking explorer, discovered America first.

　　他们指出，历史文献表明，是著名的维京探险家里耶夫·埃里克森(Li Erikson)首先发现了美洲大陆。

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