Wanted: a sympathetic oil baron, company or chief executive to help solve one of mankind's greatest mysteries.

It may sound like a tall order but a Kingston businessman is hoping the allure of his ground-breaking project to prove Homer's island of Ithaca existed, will attract enough funding to allow his team to complete the second and crucial phase of their research.

And Robert Bittlestone has the oil industry in his sights as much of the technology used to scout for fresh oil reserves is required by his team to literally get to the bottom of their problem.

Mr Bittlestone, 52, of Coombe Hill claims to have found the true location of Ithaca, described by Homer in his epic poem, The Odyssey, in 800BC.

In his book Odysseus Unbound, published last October together with Cambridge classicist Professor James Diggle and geologist John Underhill, Mr Bittlestone set out his theory that Homer's Ithaca was not the modern island of Ithaki but was in fact a western peninsula of Cephalonia which is today called Paliki.

He posits that in 800BC, a wide channel separated the two land masses and that earthquakes and rock falls have since filled this in, turning two islands into one.

Mr Bittlestone said: "We have put together our geographical case but it hasn't yet been proven.

"We need to see through all this rock with x-ray eyes and date the bottom layer of rock.

"The oil industry uses sophisticated technology which would be perfect for this so I hope we can find a sympathetic donor.

"I'll be very surprised if I'm wrong. The description Homer gives of Ithaca is very specific. If you pick up your copy of The Odyssey and use it as a Michelin Guide it fits perfectly. There are some coincidences which are just too unlikely."

The Odyssey describes the 10-year journey of Odysseus as he returns from the Trojan War in the 13th century BC.

About 40 experts have been involved in order to get the project this far and Mr Bittlestone hopes to be on the Ionian island in the summer conducting the definitive geological survey.

If his theory is proved correct it would become one of the greatest classical discoveries of all time, not only raising the possibility of the actual existence of Homer but also the idea that the character of Odysseus was based on a real person.

And this is a concept capable of causing major upheavals in the world of classical scholarship.

For more information go to www.odysseus-unbound.org sgreenwood@london.newsquest.co.uk