The Lost Colony of Roanoke

**The Lost Colony of Roanoke** is the 4th episode in Season 3 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Josh Gates joins leading archaeologists as they investigate America's first missing-persons case, The Lost Colony of Roanoke. Following newly discovered clues, he digs for answers to this 400-year-old mystery.

## Historical Context

"The history books tell us that in 1607, Jamestown, Virginia became the first permanent English colony in the now-United States. There's just one problem - that may not be true. You see, long before the Jamestown settlers ever laid eyes on the New World, an Englishman named John White led 118 men, women, and children across the Atlantic to Roanoke Island in 1587. White soon sailed back to England for much-needed supplies, but when he returned, he found the settlement eerily abandoned with no sign of the colonists dead or alive. The only clue to their fate - a single word "Croatoan" carved onto a post."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh goes to Roanoke Island, North Carolina and visits the Fort Raleigh Visitor Center where he sees artefacts from Roanoke and then goes to the Elizabethan Gardens where he meets Thom Shields. Thom and Josh walk through multiple ways they could've disappeared - death from disease, starvation, attack by natives, or the colony moved. Josh meets Emily who plays Queen Elizabeth in the Lost Colony play and Josh joins as an Englishman.

The next day, Josh meets Charles Ewen, an archaeologist, and Erika Wise, a dendrochronologist. They head along the Roanoke River and climb a tree to get a core sample. The core sample shows an extended dry period when the settlers arrived. Next, Josh meets archaeologist, Eric Deetz, who shows him John White's map. The map has some patches one of which overlays a fort symbol. At the place the symbol marks on the map, Site X, they use LIDAR to get a view of the ground and find a shape that could be a fort but not definitively.

Josh's final stop is to meet with Scott Dawson, a historian, and they got where the sign pointed - Croatoan (now Hatteras) Island where the Croatoan tribe lived. The settlers had good relations with the Croatoans meaning they may have moved there. Josh meets archaeologist, Charlie Goudgf, and they find a European glass bead. Scott shows him the handle of a rapier they've found which is significant because journals say they would've never traded their rapier meaning only somebody could've brought it there. It's recorded that the settlers discussed they would move 50 miles into the main if there was a problem. Main could mean coast and Croatoan is fifty miles down the coast from Roanoke.

## Final Words

"The colonial artefacts from the island's native sites are too numerous and too close in age to write off as coincidence. Perhaps the colonists survived, and together with the Croatoan tribe, went on to thrive in their adopted land. But as strong a case as there appears to be that the Roanoke colonists relocated, it isn't a certainty. Could a drought have starved the colony? It is possible that the group split up with some relocating to Croatoan and others to Site X? For today, those questions remain, but what we do know is that the disappearance of Roanoke couldn't stop the colonisation of North America. Soon after, Jamestown became the first permanent English settlement in the now-United States. The same determination that drove the first colonists inspired their successors and continues to inspire researchers like Charles Ewen, Eric Deetz, and Scott Dawson. Thanks to them, it appears that one day soon, we may know for sure what happened to the Lost Colony. One thing is certain, though. The bravery of Roanoke's settlers reminds us that exploration always means risk and that those who dare sometimes are lost but not forgotten."

~ Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "The Roanoke colony - I haven't heard from them in a while."
* "I'm measured for a costume that uses roughly three acres of fabric."
* "And quickly walk past the Last of the Mohicans before heading to make-up."
* "Guess what I'm an Englishman - typecasting."
* "Maybe Big Foot did it. Reasonable."
* "They are poisonous pants. I think all pants actually are not good for you in terms of eating."
* "Zombie invasion. Aliens. They went into the witness protection program. They were all secretly vampires being relocated so they wouldn't be endangered. Of course. That makes perfect sense."
* "All-time hide and seek champions. That's funny."