In 1587 a group of English settlers arrived on Roanoke Island to start a new life, but three years later more than 100 of the colonists vanished – sparking one of America’s oldest unsolved mysteries.
Now, some 400 years later, archaeologists have stumbled upon evidence that sheds light on their disappearance.
Scott Dawson, a native of Hatteras Island and hobby archaeologist, spent more than a decade excavating a site on the island, pulling thousands of artifacts from the ground.
The trove was mostly tools, beads and arrow heads of Native American origin, but along with the objects were those that belonged to English settlers.
Dawson believes he and a team of experts have located what was a ‘survivors camp,’ where most of the colonist moved and integrated with the Croatoan tribe.
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Scott Dawson, a native of Hatteras Island and hobby archaeologist, spent over a decade excavating a site on the island, pulling thousands of artifacts from the ground
The Lost Colony of Roanoke is one of America’s oldest unsolved mysteries, which has attracted experts from around the world to what is now the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with the hopes of uncovering clues to what caused the disappearance of 115 English settlers.
Dawson has always been intrigued by the history and grew up hearing stories of the colony, Wavy News 10 reports.
He recently published a book entitled ‘The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island’ that describes his findings along with a team of archaeologists from the University of Bristol.
Not only does the book discuss the Lost Colony, but also highlights the Native Americans who inhabited the area for thousands of years.
Some theories suggest the settlers traveled to Hatteras Island. This theory holds more evidence, as the word ‘Croatoan’ was found carved into a wooden post in the Roanoke colony
The trove was mostly tools, beads and arrow heads of Native American origin, but along with the objects were those that belonged to English settlers, such as this iron rapier. Experts have located what was a ‘survivors camp,’ where most of the colonist moved and integrated with the Croatoan tribe
‘We’ve got some evidence of a runaway slave they were harboring, there’s lots of side stories that are in this book that have nothing to do with the colony,’ Dawson told Wavy News 10.
‘The biggest accomplishment of this book is not that we found the colony. It’s that these Indians are no longer here.’
‘They showed nothing but love and charity and kindness to take these people in and feed them and assimilate with them and show them love and kindness — and no one even knows who they are.’
More than 400 years ago, Queen Elizabeth I and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh had hoped the 1580s expedition to America would create a new capital for England, but something went terribly wrong.
The ship, carrying 115 explorers, was the first to bring women and children to the Americas.
The group included Governor John White’s pregnant daughter Eleanor White Dare.
Several weeks after they landed in Roanoke, Eleanor gave birth to the first English baby born in the New World and named her Virginia Dare.
Governor White soon returned to England to ask for more supplies, but was held up in England for three years while the English warred with Spain.
When he was finally able to make it back in 1590 on his granddaughter’s third birthday, the colony was deserted.
Numerous theories have surfaced about what happened to the 115 English settlers.
Some suggest they died from disease, were massacred by either Native Americans or Spanish settlers or assimilated into a nearby Native American tribe, either as friends or slaves.
However, others believe a group traveled to Hatteras Island.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke is one of American’s oldest unsolved mysteries, which has attracted experts from around the world to what is now the Outer Banks of North Carolina
This theory holds more evidence, as the word ‘Croatoan’ was found carved into a wooden post in the Roanoke colony.
Bad weather conditions prevented White and the returning explorers from going to the second island after discovering the engraved signs, and instead were forced to return to England – never to see his family or the rest of the explorers again.
The Croatoan was a small group of Native Americans that lived along the coast of what is now North Carolina.
The tribe received its name from the nearby island, Croatoan, which is now Hatteras Island.
Like many of the natives living in America when settlers arrived, they fell victim to infectious disease, such as smallpox in 1598.
And experts say they became extinct in the early 17th century.
This tribe had learned English and was also able to communicate with the Roanoke colonists, which led Dawson to search Hatteras Islands for clues.
He and Mark Horton from the University of Bristol began digging on the island in 2009, where they found copper rings, sword handles, earrings, a token, writing slates and glass – leading them to believe they came from the Lost Colony.
However, it was the items that appeared to have once belong to women, as the 1587 voyage was the only one that brought them to the New World.
Scott Dawson (pictured) Dawson has always been intrigued by the history and grew up hearing stories of the colony
He recently published a book titled ‘The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island’ that describes his findings along with a team of archaeologists from the University of Bristol
‘When these colonies become abandoned, you get massive political eruptions and disagreements and people walking out and things,’ said Horton.
‘So it’s not unlikely that one group might have gone up the Chesapeake, up the Albemarle.
‘But I’m pretty confident one group at least, probably the pretty substantial part, came out to Hatteras Island.’
He explained that the island provided clear views of ships coming to the shore, which would be an ideal spot to setup came to wait for the returning vessel.
The Native American communities living there were also friendly and served as allies for the settlers who just arrived on the unknown land.
Dawson believes Hatteras Islands was home to the ‘survivor’s camp,’ where the explorers may have setup camp when they first arrived on Hatteras from Roanoke.
He also believes that the colonists eventually integrated with the tribe.
The team was supposed to excavate the site this spring, but the coronavirus pushed the work back to 2021.
Another clue was discovered in 1937, the Dare Stone.
Discovered on the North Carolina-Virginia border, the stone was believed to be written by Eleanor White Dare, Roanoke Governor John White’s daughter, and possibly tells the story of what happened to the settlers when they left their colony on Roanoke.
Scholars have since been able to transcribe the markings.
On the first side, below a cross (the emergency symbol) the message reads: ‘Ananias Dare & / Virginia Went Hence / Unto Heaven 1591 / Anye Englishman Shew / John White Govr Via’.
Another clue was discovered in 1937, the Dare Stone. Discovered on the North Carolina-Virginia border, the stone was believed to be written by Eleanor White Dare, Roanoke Governor John White’s daughter, and possibly tells the story of what happened to the settlers when they left their colony on Roanoke
The other side of the stone told the supposed story of what happened to the colonists after Governor White returned to England in 1587, in more detail. Written from the perspective of Eleanor, the writer says the colonists left Roanoke and had two years of ‘Misarie’.
According to experts , the stone says more than half the settlers died and eventually there was news that a ship had arrived off the coast.
The Native Americans worried the Europeans would take revenge, so they fled. Soon after that, shamans warned of angry spirits and all but seven of the rest of the colonists were killed, including Eleanor’s husband Ananias and her daughter Virginia. The stone says they were buried four miles east of ‘This River’ and their names have been written on a second rock.
The stone also notes it should be taken to Governor White and the Native American to bring it to the governor will receive ‘Plentie Presents’.
It was signed ‘EWD’ for Eleanor White Dare.