Editing Roanoke Colony (section)

==Archaeological research==
===1887–present: Archaeological evidence===
[[File:Fort Raleigh Archaelogical Dig 2009.jpg|thumb|Archaeological research dig at [[Fort Raleigh National Historic Site]] (2009)]]

Archaeological research on Roanoke Island only began when [[Talcott Williams]] discovered a Native American burial site in 1887. He returned in 1895 to excavate the fort but found nothing of significance. [[Ivor Noël Hume]] would later make several compelling finds in the 1990s, but none that could be positively linked to the 1587 colony, as opposed to the 1585 outpost.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=138–142}}

After [[Hurricane Emily (1993)|Hurricane Emily]] uncovered a number of Native American artifacts along Cape Creek in [[Buxton, North Carolina|Buxton]], [[North Carolina]], anthropologist [[David Sutton Phelps Jr.]] organized an excavation in 1995. Phelps and his team discovered a ring in 1998, which initially appeared to be a gold [[Seal (emblem)#Signet rings|signet ring]] bearing the [[heraldry]] of a Kendall family in the 16th century.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=184–189}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/1061/ |title=Croatan Archaeological Site Collection, ca. early 17th Century: Manuscript Collection #1061 |website=Collection Guides at East Carolina University |publisher=East Carolina University Libraries |last=Phelps |first=David S. |author-link=David Sutton Phelps Jr. |date=February 10, 2006 |access-date=September 3, 2019 |archive-date=June 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611175832/http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/1061/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The find was celebrated as a landmark discovery, but Phelps never published a paper on his findings, and neglected to have the ring properly tested. [[X-ray]] analysis in 2017 proved the ring was brass, not gold, and experts could not confirm the alleged connection to Kendall heraldry. The low value and relative anonymity of the ring make it more difficult to conclusively associate with any particular person from the Roanoke voyages, which in turn increases the likelihood that it could have been brought to the New World at a later time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mystery-roanoke-endures-yet-another-cruel-twist-180962837/ |title=The Mystery of Roanoke Endures Yet Another Cruel Twist |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |website=Smithsonian.com |date=April 7, 2017 |access-date=October 2, 2019 |archive-date=December 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210005612/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mystery-roanoke-endures-yet-another-cruel-twist-180962837/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=199–205}}

A significant challenge for archaeologists seeking information about the 1587 colonists is that many common artifacts could plausibly originate from the 1585 colony, or from Native Americans who traded with other European settlements in the same era. [[Andrew Lawler]] suggests that an example of a conclusive find would be female remains (since the 1585 colony was exclusively male) buried according to Christian tradition ([[supine position|supine]], in an east–west orientation) which can be dated to before 1650 (by which point Europeans would have spread throughout the region).{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=182}} However, few human remains of any kind have been discovered at sites related to the Lost Colony.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|p=313}}

One possible explanation for the extreme deficiency in archaeological evidence is [[shoreline erosion]]. The northern shore of Roanoke Island, where the Lane and White colonies were located, lost 928 feet (283 m) between 1851 and 1970. Extrapolating from this trend back to the 1580s, it is likely that portions of the settlements are now underwater, along with any artifacts or signs of life.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dolan |first1=Robert |last2=Bosserman |first2=Kenton |title=Shoreline Erosion and the Lost Colony |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |date=September 1972 |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=424–426 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.1972.tb00875.x |jstor=562295}}</ref>

===2011–present; new archaeological sites===
In November 2011, researchers at the First Colony Foundation noticed two corrective patches on White's 1585 map ''La Virginea Pars''. At their request, the [[British Museum]] examined the original map with a [[light table]]. One of the patches, at the confluence of the Roanoke and Chowan rivers, was found to cover a symbol representing a fort at the head of Albemarle Sound. The faint outline of a fort, drawn in what might be invisible ink, was also discovered on the patch itself.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=163–170}}<ref name="British Museum">{{cite web |title=Museum number 1906,0509.1.3 – Transmitted light image of the northern patch in "La Virginea Pars" |website=British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1178208001&objectid=753203 |access-date=September 13, 2019 |archive-date=April 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417064543/https://media.britishmuseum.org/media/Repository/Documents/2014_11/4_17/71fb63c9_8100_4986_91a1_a3d9011d959c/mid_01178208_001.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="natgeo 2020">[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/newfound-survivor-camp-may-explain-lost-colony-roanoke Newfound survivor camp may explain fate of the famed Lost Colony of Roanoke], By Andrew Lawler, November 5, 2020, National Geographic.</ref> One theory is that White may have been trying to conceal the fort from the Spanish, who saw the colony as a threat. The Spanish had sent an expedition to defeat the colony, but could not find the settlers.<ref name="natgeo 2020"/>

As the symbol is not to scale, it covers an area on the map representing thousands of acres in [[Bertie County, North Carolina]]. However, the location is presumed to be in or near the 16th-century [[Weapemeoc]] village of Mettaquem. In 2012, when a team prepared to excavate where the symbol indicated, archaeologist Nicholas Luccketti suggested they name the location "Site X", as in "[[wikt:X marks the spot|X marks the spot]]."{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=176–177}} In 2015 a team excavated the site, located near a Native American village called Mettaquem.<ref name="natgeo 2020"/>

In an October 2017 statement, the First Colony Foundation reported finding fragments of [[Tudor period|Tudor]] pottery and weapons at Site X, and concluded that these indicate a small group of colonists residing peacefully in the area.<ref name="FCF November 2017">{{cite web |title=Roanoke Symposium Success |date=November 27, 2017 |url=https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/news/roanoke-symposium-success/ |access-date=September 13, 2019 |website=First Colony Foundation |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808213105/https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/news/roanoke-symposium-success/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The challenge for this research is to convincingly rule out the possibility that such finds were brought to the area by the 1585 Lane colony, or the trading post established by [[Nathaniel Batts]] in the 1650s.{{Sfn|Lawler|2018|pp=174–182}} In 2019, the Foundation announced plans to expand the research into land that has been donated to North Carolina as Salmon Creek State Natural Area.<ref name="Salmon Creek Property">{{cite web |url=https://www.ncparks.gov/newsroom/media-releases/salmon-creek-property-transferred-state-new-natural-area |title=Salmon Creek Property Transferred to State for New Natural Area |website=North Carolina State Parks |date=January 3, 2019 |last=Hall |first=Katie |access-date=September 13, 2019 |archive-date=July 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725093005/https://www.ncparks.gov/newsroom/media-releases/salmon-creek-property-transferred-state-new-natural-area |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="FCF June 2019">{{cite web |url=https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/news/bertie-county-archaeological-survey/ |title=Bertie County Archaeological Survey |website=First Colony Foundation |date=June 20, 2019 |access-date=September 13, 2019 |archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411003815/https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/news/bertie-county-archaeological-survey/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2020, new artifacts were found in North Carolina which researchers believe may be from a colony of survivors of the Lost Colony.  These were found at a site about fifty miles west of Roanoke Island. Analysis of the artifacts focused on determining whether they might be from the Lost Colony, since later settlers from other colonies such as Jamestown would have different items and different materials than the Lost Colony settlers, such as for example clay pipes, which were invented later.<ref name="natgeo 2020"/>  Another researcher found items at a site about fifty miles south of Roanoke Island.<ref name="natgeo 2020"/>

Another dig by [[Mark Horton (archaeologist)|Mark Horton]], an archaeologist from the University of Bristol, found European artifacts at the site of a Native American village on Hatteras Island, including part of a sword and part of a gun. This may be evidence that the settlers did indeed assimilate with local Native Americans.<ref name="natgeo 2020"/><ref name="kozak">[https://coastalreview.org/2016/05/14460/ Back to Square One With Lost Colony?] 05/19/2016 by Catherine Kozak, Coastal Review.</ref>

In 2020 a book by Scott Dawson was published entitled ''The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island'' describing his efforts along with Horton to find artifacts relating to the colony. He also wrote articles in publications, including an article in the magazine [[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]], which described several  significant artifacts. these included several objects that seemed to be manufactured by Europeans, including an [[olive jar]], glass and various manufactured items.<ref name="Dawson1">[https://www.americanheritage.com/have-we-found-lost-colony Have We Found the “Lost Colony”?] What happened to the first English colonists in North America, who supposedly disappeared without a trace? Our recent archaeological discoveries may have solved the riddle.by Scott Dawson, November 2020, American Heritage.</ref><ref>[https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2020/06/19/the-lost-colony-wasnt-really-lost/ The Lost Colony wasn’t really lost], By Michelle Wagner, Outer Banks Voice on June 19, 2020.</ref>