The Roanoke Nightmare Solved?

Figure 1: Map of Roanoke Island

If you read the title of this post you are probably expecting the answer to the mystery of the missing Roanoke colonists.  Or perhaps you are just curious about the story behind the missing Roanoke colonists.  You will actually get both.  This post will explore the story of the Roanoke colonists, as well as the archaeological evidence that has been discovered thus far, followed by what archaeological and genetic studies are planned to help solve this mystery, which (spoiler alert!) remains unsolved.

The Roanoke mystery begins in 1587 when a group of English colonists arrived on the island, just off the coast of North Carolina (Figure 1).  Led by John White they were tasked with colonizing the New World, and they immediately took up that task.  The first colonist birth occurred in this group as Virginia Dare, White’s granddaughter, was born, followed by an unidentified child shortly thereafter.  Unfortunately for White and the rest of the Roanoke colonists they ran out of supplies, and White left for England to collect additional resources.  His departure to England was uneventful, but his return to the New World and his family was as the Spanish were at war with the English.  He finally departed three years later and arrived to Roanoke to find it empty.  The only clues of the whereabouts of the colonists were two trees: one with the word “Cro” carved in it and the other with the word “Croatoan” carved in it.  White and his crew searched for years for the lost colonists, but they and any physical remnants of the settlement had disappeared.  The legend of the Roanoke colony was born.

Archaeologists have been seeking out the answers to this mystery for a number of years.  In 1998 they thought they had made headway when an excavation at Hatteras Island turned up several European artifacts found among Native American artifacts.  These included remnants of a sword, English pottery, and a ring (Figure 2).  The lead archaeologist took the ring to a local jeweler for analysis, and he determined it was a gold ring.  The inscriptions were analyzed by another expert who determined that the signet was a lion and linked to the Kendall family, which was one of the original Roanoke families.  This led the archaeological team to conclude that the Roanoke colonists had abandoned their settlement and assimilated with the local Native American group, specifically the Croatoan Indians.  It was hypothesized that they left out of necessity, brought with them only their most cherished possessions, and passed them down through the generations, hence why the artifacts ended up on a different island.

Figure 2: The ring discovered at Hatteras Island believed to be linked to the Kendall family

 

Subsequent analysis of the artifacts, however, demonstrated that the lynch pin in this hypothesis, the ring, was not gold but brass.  It turned out that the lead archaeologist stretched the truth of his initial analyses as the jeweler was not authorized to do tests that would have confirmed the diagnosis of the ring being gold.  The jeweler claimed that he never said that the ring was definitively gold either.  The other expert who claimed that the signet belonged to the Kendall family also said that he never quite said that, and instead stated that the signet was definitely a lion, which was part of the Kendall family crest.  This information placed serious doubts on the original 1998 study.

All is not lost, however.  Renewed interest in the Roanoke colony has initiated new studies, both archaeological and genetic.  Advances in archaeological study, specifically ground penetrating radar (GPR), has uncovered a potential structure under the surface of the Hatteras Island soil, and excavations on the area is ongoing as a result.  Historical evidence suggests that the Hatteras Indians (aka the Croatoans) resembled white settlers based on later colonists’ observations, which also supports the assimilation hypothesis.  This is also supported by ethnohistoric evidence that documents Native Americans claiming the Roanoke colonists left the island and joined at least two Native American groups, died, or were enslaved.  Unfortunately, these historical accounts may not be directly linked to Roanoke or be completely accurate.  The Hatteras Indians were in contact with various European groups, and they could have procreated with any number of those groups, not exclusively the Roanoke colonists (if at all).  Furthermore, it is believed that the Native American accounts may have been exaggerated or falsified to impart fear in European colonists against the Native Americans they despised.  Either way genetic studies are being pursued, but due to poor records and the inability to accurately locate any family members from England who may be related to the Roanoke colonists the researchers have put out a specific call for volunteers to assist in the investigation.

As these new investigations continue and make headway there is hope for a resolution in the matter of what ultimately happened with the Roanoke colonists.  There is also the risk that nothing will be concluded as some scholars, specifically geologists, believe that natural erosive processes have already washed away the critical evidence.  The excavations and genetic studies are moving forward, though, and either way we will learn something more than what we previously knew on this matter.

References

Archaeologyincommunity. (2017, June 14). The Archaeology of Roanoke: The Lost Colony. Retrieved from Archaeology in Community: http://www.archaeologyincommunity.com/the-archaeology-of-roanoke-the-lost-colony/

Estes, R. (2018, June 28). The Lost Colony of Roanoke: Did They Survive? – National Geographic, Archaeology, Historical Records and DNA. Retrieved from DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy: https://dna-explained.com/2018/06/28/the-lost-colony-of-roanoke-did-they-survive-national-geographic-archaeology-historical-records-and-dna/

Lawler, A. (2015, August 7). We Finally Have Clues to How the Lost Roanoke Colony Vanished. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150807-lost-colony-roanoke-hatteras-outer-banks-archaeology/

Lawler, A. (2017, April 7). The Mystery of Roanoke Endures Yet Another Cruel Twist. Retrieved from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mystery-roanoke-endures-yet-another-cruel-twist-180962837/

Lawler, A. (2018, June 6). Archaeologists start a new hunt for the fabled Lost Colony of the New World. Retrieved from Science Magazine: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/archaeologists-start-new-hunt-fabled-lost-colony-new-world

O'Callaghan, J. (2018, June 11). Could The Mystery Of The Lost Colony Of Roanoke Finally Be Solved? Retrieved from IFLScience: http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/archaeologists-are-trying-to-solve-the-mystery-of-the-lost-colony-of-north-america/

The First Colony Foundation. (2018). Archaeology. Retrieved from The First Colony Foundation: https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/archaeology/