“The X-ray shows nothing behind the bronze exterior except for a hollow space,” Gray answered.

“What about the exterior?”

“A lot more promising.” Gray produced a slim remote control from his suit jacket and pointed it at the screen. The ghostly figure disappeared. Filling the screen was a close-up of the statue’s face. “I’ll let Dr. Defoe deal with this area.”

Defoe squinted at the screen through round-framed glasses. “The damage makes it difficult to gauge the subject’s age, but, judging from the muscular body, he is probably in his twenties.”

“Forever young,” Baltazar observed in a rare poetic moment.

“The conical hat is similar to that we see in pictures and sculptures of Phoenician sailors. The beard and hair have me puzzled. The way they are layered denotes someone of upper-class Phoenician society, yet he is garbed in the kilt and sandals of a simple sailor.”

“Go on,” Baltazar said. There was no discernible change in his expression despite his growing excitement.

The image morphed into a close-up view of the pendant around the Navigator’s neck. “This pendant replicates a Phoenician coin design,” Defoe said. “The horse is the symbol for Phoenicia. The uprooted palm tree to its right denotes a colony. Here’s where things get intriguing.”

The red dot jumped to a semicircular space below the horse head and palm tree where there was a horizontal line of squiggles.

“Runes?” Baltazar said.

“That was the common assumption when figures like these were seen on the coins. However, none matched any known Phoenician script. The markings remained a puzzle for years. Then a geologist at MountHolyokeCollege named Mark McMenamin came up with a startling new theory. He submitted the symbols to computer enhancement, which I will do here.”

The symbols on the screen became sharper and more defined.

“This pattern looks familiar,” Baltazar said.

“Perhaps this will help.” The shapes on the screen were set off by familiar continental outlines.

Baltazar leaned forward. “Incredible. They’re continents!”

“That was McMenamin’s conclusion. As a geologist, he recognized the landmasses for what they are. You can make out the rectangular shape of the Iberian Peninsula projecting down at an angle from Europe, which with North Africa encloses the Mediterranean. That’s Asia off to the right. Those smaller symbols west of Europe could be the British Isles. North America is the landmass on the left. South America seems to be missing or absorbed into the northern continent. Computer enhancement can be subject to different interpretations. But if McMenamin is right, this pendant indicates the range and scope of Phoenician colonies.”

“A bloody map of the world,” Baltazar said with a grin.