‘Arab tribes, not Columbus, discovered America’

BURAIDAH: Suleiman Al-Deeb, professor of ancient languages at King Saud University and researcher at the King Faisal Center for Research and Studies, has claimed that America was discovered by Thamudic Arab tribes much before Christopher Columbus reached there in the 15th Century.
In an interview published by a website, Al-Deeb said he was among 15 people from various parts of the world to discuss the intaglio, or engravings, found at one of the military bases of Colorado. The text was read and found to be Thamudic Arabic similar to that found in the Arabian Peninsula.
He said that these engravings were from the 10th Century and indicated migration in that era. He said that there was no problem in reading this Thamudic text which was sent to him from America.
Al-Deeb said that there were rock fragments in the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in the Kingdom, which have engravings from more than three thousand years back. He said the engravings on these rock fragments are in the form of artworks recording their lives, religion, food and drinks of that era.
It is widely believed that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. He led a Spanish-based trans-Atlantic maritime expedition which resulted in the discovery of the Americas.