It’s one of America’s oldest mysteries, and more than 430 years later it’s a cold case still under investigation. Another archaeological dig took place last week, looking to uncover clues about the exact location of the lost colony of Roanoke Island.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke has fascinated people for centuries. Where did the 100 or so colonists go when they left the Outer Banks in the late 1500s?
First Colony Foundation’s Vice President for Research Eric Klingelhofer said a dig last week at the island’s Elizabethan Gardens built upon “tantalizing finds” in a dig conducted there last year, in which a ring of copper wire was found that showed the existence of a trade relationship between the Native Americans and the English settlers.
"Very small, very thin. And so, it would not have been a finger ring in any way,” he said, “The Algonquins never used finger rings, but they liked ear adornments and that's probably what it had been used as.”
Shards of Algonquian pottery dating to that time were also found in 2023, and Klingelhofer said more of that pottery was found last week.
"We found again supportive pot shards that tell us that this is one of the latest Algonquin styles of pottery,” he said.
History shows that the colonists said they intended to move about 50 miles into the mainland and Salmon Creek is about that distance; Kilngelhofer said work has been underway for years on that site.
“We have actually found, in Bertie County at the other end of the Albemarle Sound, evidence of English Elizabethan artifacts, and that is from the Lost colony,” Klingelhofer said, “It's not just one site. We found two sites and we're looking for a third.”
Another exploration will take place at the nearby Fort Raleigh National Historic Site next month.
