Theories abound about what happened to the so-called Lost Colony,
ranging from sober scholarship to science fiction. Some historians
believe that the colonists might have been absorbed into American Indian
tribes. Other explanations point to darker fates, like disease, an
attack by Spaniards or violence at the hands of Indians. The wild-eyed
fringe hints at cannibalism and even alien abduction.
The shroud of mystery may finally be lifting. The British Museum’s
re-examination of a 16th-century coastal map using 21st-century imaging
techniques has revealed hidden markings that show an inland fort where
the colonists could have resettled after abandoning the coast.
The findings,
announced Thursday morning, bring into focus a puzzle that has long fed
the feverish curiosity of historians, archaeologists and amateur
sleuths. Folklore has flourished over the colonists’ fate, including
that of the first child of English descent born in the Americas,
Virginia Dare.
And the findings point to new mysteries. The analysis suggests that the
symbol marking the fort was deliberately hidden, perhaps to shield it
from espionage in the spy-riddled English court. An even more
tantalizing hint of dark arts tints the map: the possibility that
invisible ink may have marked the site all along.
James Horn, vice president of research and historical interpretation at
the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, cautioned that the Lost Colony had
not been found. But the findings do provide the clearest marker yet for
future archaeological excavations, which, if successful, could pinpoint
where the settlers went.
“It’s a pretty amazing piece of evidence from a source that has been
staring us in the face all along,” said Mr. Horn, who joined historians
with an organization called the First Colony Foundation to announce the findings.
The discovery came from a watercolor map
in the British Museum’s permanent collection that was drawn by the
colony’s governor, John White. Hoping to establish a New World foothold
for the English, White took the settlers to their original location,
Roanoke Island, just inside the chain of barrier islands known today as
the Outer Banks.
It was the second English settlement on North Carolina’s coast, but it
was the first to include civilians, among them wives, sons and — within
weeks of their arrival in 1587 — White’s newborn granddaughter, Virginia
Dare.
White returned to England for supplies, but an attack by the Spanish
Armada delayed his return for three years. When he did return, the
settlers had vanished.
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