Hi. I write and draw a comic about bards in ancient Ireland set in a town on the coast near the Giant's Causeway. It is set around 250-300 AD. I try to be historically accurate, but also take some creative liberties.
I wish to have a traveling group of north African or Mediterranean musicians arrive in the Irish town, so that I can introduce griots in to the story.
I know that it might be unlikely in real life that people from the Mediterranean ever went to North Ireland circa 250-300 AD but were any cultures physically capable of making the journey by sea if they choose? Would the Phoenicians or Egyptians been strong and capable, in theory, of sea travel to the British isles at this time period?
Like I say, I don't try to pretend that my story is real history. It is historical fantasy. At the same time though, the world is grounded, and I don't want to write something that physically wasn't possible.
For another question, were the Northern Europeans c. 250-300 AD capable of sea travel from Scandinavia to Ireland, and is there any evidence of trade or interaction between the two cultures?
The Phoenicians and Egyptians had long since been absorbed by multiple other states and cultures by the 3rd century. The Mediterranean and North Africa at this time was controlled by the Roman Empire, who had not just traveled to, but had conquered parts of the British Isles. It would certainly be very possible for a north African to reach Ireland, if unlikely.