For those of you who don’t remember all of your US history: Roanoke is one of those enduring mysteries of the past, as puzzling as the true identity of Jack the Ripper or the fate of Amelia Earhart. Discoveries announced recently, however, may shed some light on what happened in Roanoke, North Carolina more than 400 years ago.
In 1587, more than 100 English colonists settled on Roanoke Island in an attempt to found the first permanent English settlement in the New World. By August 18, 1590, the entire colony was gone—vanished seemingly into thin air, leaving behind only their abandoned and looted colony and two carvings: “Croatoan” on a post and the letters “CRO” on a tree.
The colony leader, John White, was the one to make the alarming discovery. He had sailed to England in 1587 to fetch desperately needed supplies for the colonists, leaving behind his wife, his daughter, and his granddaughter Virginia Dare—the first non-indigenous child born in the New World.
Despite his best efforts to find them, he never saw them again. The Lost Colony has remained an enormous mystery ever since, with theories abounding. Croatoan was the name of an island south of Roanoke (now Hatteras Island)—so did the colonists go there? Were they killed by Spaniards or Native Americans? Did they try to sail back to England and die on the journey?
New evidence, possible answer
Now, two independent research teams claim they have found archaeological evidence that points to what happened to the vanished 115 men, women, and children: They may have survived, joining two friendly Native American tribes in the area.
The evidence is a collection of goods from two separate sites, including a sword hilt, fragments of English bowls, gun flintlocks, and a fragment of a writing slate still inscribed with the letter M. Even more exciting: The sites are found both on the mainland and on Hatteras Island—also known as Croatoan.
“The evidence is that they assimilated with the Native Americans but kept their goods,” Mark Horton, an archaeologist who heads the excavation on Hatteras, told National Geographic.
These aren’t the first major items to be found on Hatteras Island. In 1998, a 10-carat gold signet ring was discovered, believed to date back to the 16th century. This find prompted further excavations—including the one that unearthed the European items found in July. The bowl fragments are especially exciting, because the style of pottery (Border Ware) stopped being imported into the New World by the early 17th century—decades before the first recorded settler moved into the area in 1655.
However, both the Hatteras team and the mainland team don’t claim this information is the end-all be-all, especially since exact dating of these objects is difficult.
“You have more work to do,” Ivor Noel Hume, a former Colonial Williamsburg archaeologist who excavated at Roanoke Island in the 1990s, warned both teams at a meeting.
According to the New York Times, one of the teams will make further announcements on the discoveries today. Stay tuned!
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Feature Image: John White discovers “Croatoan” inscription in Roanoke. (Credit: Wikipedia)
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