Lost Colony’s Fate May Be Discovered After Researchers Reveal New Clues

Back before the internet, schoolkids were entranced by stories and mysteries like that of the Lost Colony’s fate- one of the larger spots of American history intrigue in elementary and grade school.

Back when we learned about the mysterious Lost Colony’s fate (the one at Roanoke), it was kind of presented as a question we’d unlikely learn the answer to- at least not for many years. Roanoke was one of the first American colonies settled, supported by Sir Walter Raleigh back in the late 1500′s.

However, when the colony was revisited after a three-year absence, all 90 men, 17 women and 11 children in the colony had disappeared without a trace. No one knew what happened to the residents of what came to be known as the “Lost Colony,” and the sole clue left behind was the somewhat cryptic message “Croatoan” carved into a post at the settlement.

But as science develops, so too does the possibility that we can get a far better idea of the Lost Colony’s fate. In the past, we’d settled for believing that the original Roanoke settlers had a) gone off shagging Indians, b) gotten killed by Indians or c) been consumed in some massive supernatural event; but now researchers believe they have a bead on where the colonists got off to in the three years between when they were last seen alive and their colony was found abandoned on what is now Hatteras Island.

A map of settler John White’s that belongs to the British Museum has yielded new clues previously hidden behind spots on the document and only visible in a light box. James Horn is an expert on the Lost Colony, and he explains:

“We believe that this evidence provides conclusive proof that they moved westward up the Albemarle Sound to the confluence of the Chowan and Roanoke rivers… Their intention was to create a settlement. And this is what we believe we are looking at with this symbol — their clear intention, marked on the map …”

In a joint statement, researchers in America and Britain announced:

“First Colony Foundation researchers believe that it could mark, literally and symbolically, ‘the way to Jamestown.’ As such, it is a unique discovery of the first importance.”

There are eventual plans to excavate the area in that may hold the key to the Lost Colony’s fate, but the area lies under a golf course and residential area, so it is not likely to happen immediately.