It was hailed as the first proof of Viking exploration to the America and the earliest known map of the New World. Moreover, the Vinland Map was used by some to claim that the Vikings had discovered America 50 years before Christopher Columbus. Now a Scottish independent researcher has used simple Google searches to investigate the map and claims to have uncovered new proof that suggests it is an elaborate fraud. The Vinland Map was uncovered in the 1950s and was hailed as the first map showing the New World (circled). However, amateur researcher John Paul Floyd has found evidence that suggests it is a fake . Historians believed the map was proof of Viking exploration to the Americas before Christopher Columbus . John Paul Floyd, 43, from Glasgow, says the controversial map that has divided experts since it was uncovered in 1957, was forged and drawn on a 15th Century parchment. He claims the genuine parchment was stolen and the map drawn on its back was a fake. The map emerged on the international book market in the 1950s bound within two medieval documents,  the Tartar Relation and the Speculum Histioriale . According to Mr Floyd's research, the documents were ironically put on display in 1892 at an event commemorating Columbus but no record of the map exists. He believes this is because it was not drawn until decades later. The Vinland Map was verified in 1965 by experts from Yale University and the British Museum, who said it dated from about 1440. It depicted exploration of the east coast of the U.S., including Hudson Bay, Labrador and the Gulf of St Lawrence in Canada. However, its authenticity was immediately suspected by other academics who questioned where this hugely important historical document had lain hidden for so long. Mr Floyd said its display at the Columbus exhibition in Madrid is a 'remarkable twist'. Although archaeologists later found that Vikings had been to the Americas, Mr Floyd's research appears to show that the Vinland Map is a fake and was forged on 15th Century parchment . The Glasgow-based researcher said: 'The historical irony is breathtaking. 'The aim of the exhibition was to illustrate the richness of European civilisation around the time of the Columbus expedition. It is evident that there was still no map associated with the documents at that time.' Mr Floyd has also uncovered another reference to the two genuine documents, dated from 1926, in which the map was found. He says it was examined by Spanish priest and scholar Cristóbal Pérez Pastor but again there is no reference to the Vinland Map. The researcher has taken his detective work a step further. The Cathedral Church of Zaragoza provided the manuscripts, which contained the map parchment, to the Madrid Columbus exhibition. Mr Floyd, who is writing a book on the subject, says hundreds of rare books and manuscripts were stolen from the Zaragoza Cathedral Library in the 1950s - only a few years before the map emerged. Enzo Ferrajoli, the Spanish-based Italian dealer who sold the Vinland Map in 1957, was later convicted in connection with the thefts. The Vinland Map was verified in 1965 by experts from Yale University and the British Museum (pictured) Mr Floyd said: 'The fate of the Zaragozan items raises disturbing ethical questions. 'Many were acquired by respectable institutions which refused point-blank to return them.' His claims about the provenance of the Vinland Map have intrigued academics, who say they will investigate further. Peter Barber, the British Library's head of cartographical and topographical materials, told The Sunday Times: 'The map community is taking this seriously. 'Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the obvious.' Mr Floyd also believes that the forger of the Vinland Map copied the shapes from a 1463 world map attributed to the Venetian cartographer Andrea Bianco. He said slight deviations in a 1782 engraving of the Bianco Map, which differ from the original, show up in the Vinland Map. Despite the suspect provenance of the map, archaeologists have definitively proved that Vikings settled in the U.S. as early as the year 1000. In the 1960s a Norse settlement was excavated at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland by archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad and her husband Helge Ingstad.
Vinland Map hailed in 1950s and 60s as earliest depiction of New World .
Map divided historians with some believing it was genuine .
Researcher John Paul Floyd uncovered new evidence about its provenance .
He said the Vinland Map is likely to be an elaborate fraud .
Says map was drawn on genuine 15th Century parchment .
It was hailed as the first proof of Viking exploration to the America and the earliest known map of the New World. Moreover, the Vinland Map was used by some to claim that the Vikings had discovered America 50 years before Christopher Columbus. Now a Scottish independent researcher has used simple Google searches to investigate the map and claims to have uncovered new proof that suggests it is an elaborate fraud. The Vinland Map was uncovered in the 1950s and was hailed as the first map showing the New World (circled). However, amateur researcher John Paul Floyd has found evidence that suggests it is a fake . Historians believed the map was proof of Viking exploration to the Americas before Christopher Columbus . John Paul Floyd, 43, from Glasgow, says the controversial map that has divided experts since it was uncovered in 1957, was forged and drawn on a 15th Century parchment. He claims the genuine parchment was stolen and the map drawn on its back was a fake. The map emerged on the international book market in the 1950s bound within two medieval documents,  the Tartar Relation and the Speculum Histioriale . According to Mr Floyd's research, the documents were ironically put on display in 1892 at an event commemorating Columbus but no record of the map exists. He believes this is because it was not drawn until decades later. The Vinland Map was verified in 1965 by experts from Yale University and the British Museum, who said it dated from about 1440. It depicted exploration of the east coast of the U.S., including Hudson Bay, Labrador and the Gulf of St Lawrence in Canada. However, its authenticity was immediately suspected by other academics who questioned where this hugely important historical document had lain hidden for so long. Mr Floyd said its display at the Columbus exhibition in Madrid is a 'remarkable twist'. Although archaeologists later found that Vikings had been to the Americas, Mr Floyd's research appears to show that the Vinland Map is a fake and was forged on 15th Century parchment . The Glasgow-based researcher said: 'The historical irony is breathtaking. 'The aim of the exhibition was to illustrate the richness of European civilisation around the time of the Columbus expedition. It is evident that there was still no map associated with the documents at that time.' Mr Floyd has also uncovered another reference to the two genuine documents, dated from 1926, in which the map was found. He says it was examined by Spanish priest and scholar Cristóbal Pérez Pastor but again there is no reference to the Vinland Map. The researcher has taken his detective work a step further. The Cathedral Church of Zaragoza provided the manuscripts, which contained the map parchment, to the Madrid Columbus exhibition. Mr Floyd, who is writing a book on the subject, says hundreds of rare books and manuscripts were stolen from the Zaragoza Cathedral Library in the 1950s - only a few years before the map emerged. Enzo Ferrajoli, the Spanish-based Italian dealer who sold the Vinland Map in 1957, was later convicted in connection with the thefts. The Vinland Map was verified in 1965 by experts from Yale University and the British Museum (pictured) Mr Floyd said: 'The fate of the Zaragozan items raises disturbing ethical questions. 'Many were acquired by respectable institutions which refused point-blank to return them.' His claims about the provenance of the Vinland Map have intrigued academics, who say they will investigate further. Peter Barber, the British Library's head of cartographical and topographical materials, told The Sunday Times: 'The map community is taking this seriously. 'Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the obvious.' Mr Floyd also believes that the forger of the Vinland Map copied the shapes from a 1463 world map attributed to the Venetian cartographer Andrea Bianco. He said slight deviations in a 1782 engraving of the Bianco Map, which differ from the original, show up in the Vinland Map. Despite the suspect provenance of the map, archaeologists have definitively proved that Vikings settled in the U.S. as early as the year 1000. In the 1960s a Norse settlement was excavated at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland by archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad and her husband Helge Ingstad.
the map and claims to have uncovered new proof that suggests it is an elaborate fraud. The Vinland Map was uncovered in the 1950s and was hailed as the first map showing the New World Christopher Columbus . John Paul Floyd, 43, from divided experts since it was uncovered in 1957, was forged and drawn on a 15th Century parchment. He claims the genuine parchment was stolen and about the provenance of the Vinland Map have