HOLA amigos,
Thank you for the kind words and interest in my project, I will be delighted to notify you all as soon as possible. It seems we DO have many common interests.
Springfield I have heard that theory and (in part) tend to agree with it; on logic alone there is no other reason for the treasure fleet to require three years for each trip, unless the distance involved demanded it. The more skeptical explanation places Ophir in nearby Ethiopia or India etc yet these locations were accessible overland with no risk of pirates or storms, or if voyaging by sea would take only a few weeks at most. The ancient Greek text known as the "Periplus Erythraeum" describes the route to India from Africa both by following the coast line (as most historians insist all ancient ships traveled) which was much longer and more dangerous, or the direct route straight across the Indian ocean, taking advantage of the trade winds and monsoons for quick and easy passage. It is safe to presume that Solomon's fleet would have knowledge of these routes, so it would not require three years to sail to India or Ethiopia and return. (A relatively difficult book to locate, "Did the Phoenicians Discover America" by Thomas C. Johnston proposes this route to America without circumnavigating, which seems less likely as the extreme distance would likely require more than three years.) We can also take note of the fact that it took almost exactly three years for Magellan's ships to circle the Earth, as for Drake not long after, plus a minority of the Spanish academics testing the ideas of Columbus seem to have held the view that Solomon's ships were making that trip as well.
If we turn to the bible to try to find clues of where to look for Ophir and Tarshish (the other named place sought after by Solomon's ships) there is little to go on Ophir, but a few clues on Tarshish. Josephus the 1st century Jewish historian said it was simply Tarsus in Asia Minor, but it is possible that he was either deliberately misleading his readers (Romans in the process of conquering his homeland) or that the true knowledge of Tarshish had been lost by his time (at least 800 years after Solomon) - plus we know that in the time of Solomon, there was no city in the site of Tarsus. However we know from the books I Kings and II Chronicles that Solomon went to great efforts to build his fleet in Ezion-geber, which is near the northern apex of the gulf of Aqaba, which in turn connects to the Red Sea and Indian ocean. So the ships were able to sail to both Ophir and Tarshish by sailing EAST from Ezion-geber. Then in another book in the bible, (Jonah) we find that it is also possible to sail to Tarshish from Joppa, a port on the Mediterranean sea traveling WEST.
The best candidate for Tarshish (in my opinion) is Tartessus as it was known to the Greeks. Tartessus was an ancient Phoenician colony in SW Spain, not far from modern Cadiz; (I believe this has recently been re-discovered and claimed to be none other than Atlantis) we also know that a fair Jewish colony grew in the same part of Spain later, perhaps a result of others fleeing the homeland to go to Tarshish like Jonah tried to do. But if you look at a map, it makes little sense to sail from the Red Sea to head for Spain, when it would have been FAR shorter and faster to simply sail from Joppa across the Mediterranean, the only logical reason being that the voyage had to stop at other ports of call - Ophir! It does not require three years to sail around Africa either - we can even find a record of an Egyptian expedition (using Phoenicians to build, pilot and guide the little fleet) which took approximately 30 months to complete the voyage, - yet even this is deceptively long since the Phoenicians put in to shore each fall and sowed grain, then waited for the grain to ripen (perhaps six months) so the full voyage would have taken considerably less if we subtract their stops. The logical conclusion is that Solomon's fleet (which included Phoenician pilots and sailors, as king Hiram of Tyre was his friend and ally in the endeavor) must have been making the trip right around the world. It would then make sense - the ships would depart from Ezion-geber, but return to Joppa (where the only evidence specifically tied to Ophir has ever been found) and explains why the fleet had to be re-built in Ezion-geber several times; for it appears that when Solomon died the fleet might have been in Joppa.
Locating Ophir is quite a problem. I have heard several stories of lost cities and even a pyramid in Death Valley, but without something to substantiate the stories (perhaps finding ancient mines or even pottery shards or ancient coins) it is pure speculation on my part. It does make sense that ancient navigators and merchants would have made use of the rivers to penetrate inland (we know they did in other lands) and this is where 90% of ancient coins have been found in the US - along navigable rivers or near ocean ports and beaches. I have heard a number of different theories about the origins of the treasure stashed in Victorio Peak, and have seen a few photos of items but cannot identify the makers from the photos. The shape of the bars (rectangular) is different from known ancient examples from the time of Solomon which were conical in shape (the "golden wedge of Ophir") or discs, as well as the peculiar "oxhide" or "reel" shapes. I am NOT saying that this automatically proves the bars in VP could not have been ancient relics of Solomon or Atlantis, only that based only on the shapes seen in the photos they do not resemble known ancient types.
There were ancient visitors to the American Southwest from across the seas, the clues are all around us (such as the Los Lunas "Dekalogue" or the strange inscriptions found in Nevada, the mysterious stone walls in California etc) and I firmly believe that much more remains to be found. I will go way out on the limb here with a wild theory, please bear with me:
<begin wild speculation>
It can be shown that ancient Carthage (famous for the great general Hannibal) not only knew of the existence of the Americas but attempted to plant a colony here (which was later withdrawn by order of the Punic senate) and that they kept the place a (relative) secret, as Aristotle puts it, as a possible place of refuge in case some great calamity should ever befall the homeland. Carthage at the time she was destroyed by Rome, was the richest city on Earth and one of the most populous. The massive treasure of gold and silver in their national treasury seems to have vanished from the face of the planet. It is true that the Romans blocked the entry to the port of Carthage, so the people were not able to escape to their "secret land"; however during the terrible siege the resourceful citizens built a brand new fleet of warships from the rafters and floor joists of private homes, then opened a new entry to the sea by breaking through the walls of their interior port. This fleet then engaged the Romans and their allies for a while until finally defeated, but during this window of time, it is logical that the Carthaginians might well have shipped out their treasure - for several purposes; one to try to hire mercenaries to help fight the Romans, for another to get the treasure to their secret place where the Romans could never reach it. At any rate the Romans seem never to have found it, nor the Numidians who aided them.
Over a century later, after Carthage had been re-founded by Romans, a Carthaginian named Bassus went to the infamous emperor Nero and claimed to have had a dream; in his dream, the founder of Carthage queen Dido (or Elyssa) showed Bassus a massive treasure of gold ingots, coins and raw gold, stored in a cave. Bassus took this to mean that the huge treasure of Carthage must be hidden in a cave somewhere on his farm, which lay just outside the walls of Carthage. So Nero jumped at the chance to help recover the treasure, outfitting a special fleet of treasure ships, sending a mass of laborers and soldiers to help dig up and protect the treasure, with Bassus and Nero splitting the expected funds. Nero went on a massive spending binge, promising to replenish the national coffers out of the proceeds of his expected Punic treasure, nearly bankrupting the Empire. Unfortunately for Bassus and Nero, despite digging up virtually every square inch of his farm, not only was no treasure found but no cave either!
If the dream of Bassus was indeed a clue to the location of the treasure of Carthage, (really speculating here) then what clues he was given was that it is hidden in a cave.
What better place to hide such a treasure, than in a secret land that the enemy does not even know exists?
<End wild speculation>
My apologies for yet another long-winded post, and thank you for your indulgence. Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
your friend,
Roy ~ Oroblanco (Honorary member of the Tinfoil Hat Society
)
? Heck, I'd even pay some money for it so you can get a royalty 
