425 Years Later, New Clues to the Fate of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

This month marks the 425th anniversary of one of America's oldest post-Columbian mysteries and perhaps the most infamous of the world's mysterious disappearances.

It was on August 18, 1590 that the Roanoke Island colony's governor, John White, returned with desperately needed supplies from England — three years after his departure from the colony, three years during which the colony went without resupply — to discover that the colony had been abandoned, the houses dismantled and that the 115 colonists were nowhere to be found.

The only clues to the fate of what was to be England's first permanent settlement in North America were the word "CROATOAN" carved into a fence post and the three letters "CRO" carved into a tree nearby. Before White's departure, the possibility of the colony moving into the interior had been discussed and White had given instructions that if the colonists should leave, that they should indicate their destination in just this way and if it their departure was forced, they should also carve a Maltese Cross above the destination. The carvings and the absence of the cross led White to conclude that the colonists had moved on to Croatoan Island, named for its native inhabitants, now known as Hatteras Island, North Carolina.

Unfortunately no search for the colonists was conducted; plans to sail to Croatan Island the following day were derailed by bad weather and opposition from the ships' officers and crew.

Recent discoveries by independent archaeological teams, excavating at nearby sites, may at long last provide tangible evidence of the fate of the colonists though there's much work left to be done toward proving their hypotheses. From National Geographic:

A collection of newly discovered European objects, including a sword hilt, broken English bowls, and a fragment of a slate writing tablet still inscribed with a letter, could point to the presence of the colonists on Hatteras Island, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of their settlement on Roanoke Island, as well as at a site on the mainland 50 miles to the northwest.

“The evidence is that they assimilated with the Native Americans but kept their goods,” says Mark Horton, an archaeologist at Britain’s Bristol University, who heads the excavation on Hatteras.

Meanwhile, at the mainland site on the Albemarle Sound near Edenton, N.C., Nick Luccketti of the First Colony Foundation believes that his group has unearthed pottery used by the lost colonists after they deserted their Roanoke settlement.

While the artifacts uncovered are exciting, attributing them to the Roanoke colonists is difficult as methods such as radiocarbon dating are't precise enough to indicate whether the European artifacts found interspersed with those of the natives originated with the colonists or were brought over from Europe in the following decades and found their way into the native settlements through trade. That said, some of the artifacts do lend themselves to dating by other means and the results are encouraging:

More recently, in an area adjacent to the village, the First Colony team uncovered English pottery similar to that dug up on Roanoke Island and common at Jamestown—but not typical in the second half of the 17th century, when English settlers filtered south from Virginia to settle North Carolina. Other pottery typical of the later 17th century is absent.

Excavators also found a metal hook possibly used to stretch hides or tents, as well as an aglet, a tiny copper tube used to secure wool fibers. Aglets were largely replaced with hook and eyes in the first half of the 17th century. They’ve shown up on Roanoke Island and at Cape Creek as well.

And then there are tantalizing contextual clues:

One of the most unusual recent discoveries is a small piece of slate that was used as a writing tablet, along with a lead pencil. A tiny letter “M” can just be made out on one corner. A similar, though much larger, slate was found at Jamestown.

“This was owned by somebody who could read or write,” Horton says. “This wasn’t useful for trade, but was owned by an educated European.”

While the mystery is far from definitively solved and neither group has yet published papers detailing the finds in scholarly journals, the mounting evidence is enough to leave the teams' members and others cautiously optimistic.

I didn't see this posted anywhere so my apologies if it has been.

a reply to: theantediluvian

This is fun read, I have often pondered what happened to that colony. Lots of amusing theories out there too.

a reply to: theantediluvian

I sort of don't want to know what happened to them. The mystery, the creepy "Croatoan" message...it'll lose its delicious spookiness. Some things should just remain unsolved, and that's one of them.

Abducted!

a reply to: theantediluvian

I have always LOVED this mystery. This is the kind of thread that ATS needs more of in my opinion.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: theantediluvian

I have always LOVED this mystery. This is the kind of thread that ATS needs more of in my opinion.

Thanks and frankly I enjoy them more than arguing politics!

I'd say we could do with a couple additional forums specifically for things like mysterious disappearances.

a reply to: tigertatzen

I understand the sentiment but believe me, there's no shortage of creepy vanishings. I made a thread some months back with a couple and it unfortunately didn't spark the interest I thought it would.

Lesser Known Mysteries V: Disturbing Disappearances

a reply to: theantediluvian

I dont see where the mystery is...

there was a clear instruction of communication through leaving a message. the word CROATOAN may sound mysterious to us today, but it had a clear meaning obviously, it referred to the island.

So he probably got some form of oral confirmation that the 115 were indeed on Croatoan island and it wasnt recorded in any form. where is the mystery?

a reply to: combatmaster

Nobody got around to looking for the colonists for another twelve years. It was actually expedient for Sir Walter Raleigh to not find out what happened to the colonists because his charter was dependent on their being an active settlement. I'd guess that's why nobody went looking again for so many years because for his purposes presumed alive was definitely better than confirmed dead. Hell, maybe somebody did turn up something and covered it up? That'd be an interesting twist.

At any rate, Raleigh finally launched an expedition in 1602 that never reached the island and then he was later arrested for treason. In 1608-9 Capt. John Smith of Jamestown was allegedly told by Chief Powhatan that he'd slaughtered the colonists but repeated expeditions turned up no sign of their remains nor did his story fit with the physical evidence. During this same period there were recorded various other accounts about colonists being spotted among various tribes, often and most famously as prisoners, but these accounts are never firsthand. Within a generation or two the accounts began to shift to those of encounters with fair eyed/fair skinned natives who allegedly claimed descent from the vanished colonists.

I like Stephen Kings theory...

"Give me what I want and I'll go away."

a reply to: rexsblues

I was always partial to the Dean Koontz theory of the ancient enemy:

Hasn't the leading theory been "they joined the Croatan people and interbred with them" for a while now?

It is a great mystery.
I think the idea that they were doing poorly and assimilated with the Natives is the most likely scenario.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Seem to remember a study showing the presence of a rare genetic disorder , of British origin , showing up among one particular tribe.
The disorder is found among the British descendants of an individual among the original colonists.

Beyond that , it was a terrible place for a colony, there was a reason there were no Indians there.
A few people most certainly assimilated into the native Americans, but things got very very bad at the colony, they turned to canabalism.

a reply to: theantediluvian

a reply to: tigertatzen

I understand the sentiment but believe me, there's no shortage of creepy vanishings. I made a thread some months back with a couple and it unfortunately didn't spark the interest I thought it would.

That is unfortunate...perhaps you might consider giving it another go? We rarely ever have discussions anymore about mysteries and spooky things, and it would be a breath of fresh air amid all of the pedantic socio-political threads in my opinion. Some good, solid mysterious spooky weirdness to focus on...yes please!

originally posted by: theantediluvian

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: theantediluvian

I have always LOVED this mystery. This is the kind of thread that ATS needs more of in my opinion.

Thanks and frankly I enjoy them more than arguing politics!

I'd say we could do with a couple additional forums specifically for things like mysterious disappearances.

I dunno... Maybe a History forum? Eh Eh?

I have stood in the Roanoke Gardens twice before. I feel that the people migrated South and moved in with the Indians. There would have been a multitude of crabs, shrimp, fish to eat along the ocean. Tidal marsh turtles, crabs, alligators, birds to eat too. Oysters and clams galore. No need for cannibalism there. Disease and illness might have been the problem. Who ever was left assimilated with the Indians or were killed by them. Three years is a long time.

History channel has a show called "America Unearthed"

Here is a segment about Roanoke, It's a pretty interesting show but like all shows now-a-days,

Cliff hanger? no real ending? no ones know so it's wasted film? you decide......

www.history.com...

originally posted by: baddmove
History channel has a show called "America Unearthed"

rearrange the first four letters of "History channel" for a handy guide to their recent content

a reply to: tigertatzen

They're probably gathered around the Fountain of Youth, laughing it up. Imagine the stories THEY could tell.