Gradually the western Mediterranean Phoenician colonies all came under the control of Carthage. The Carthaginians were explorers too. Two major explorations are are mentioned by early writers. Both took place around 500 BC. Pliny the Elder wrote that Carthage sent an explorer named Himilco to explore the remote parts of Europe. The report, or "periplus" (sailing record), has not survived but other early writers have seen it. He had as many as 60 ships in his fleet. He would have traveled along the Iberian Peninsula up the coast of Gaul. Avienus, a Roman writer of the 4th century AD, wrote about the expedition. Himilco moved north from Brittany to the British Isles. It is likely he was looking for tin, a rare metal at the time. He reached a land called , “The Holy Island”, generally believed to be Ireland.