At the end of the 16th century , a group of English settlers to North America cryptically vanished without a trace from Roanoke Island , today part of North Carolina . Now archaeologist are preparing to search for them again , in the hopes of finally solving this enduring whodunit .
Often referred to asThe Lost Colony , the Roanoke settler were thought to count more than 100 men , fair sex , and shaver . But after the eruption of the Anglo - Spanish state of war in 1585 , with supplies from the English dwindling away , the colony disappeared . When governor John White returned in 1590 , having leave for supplies in 1587 , the colony was deserted .
AsScience Magazinereports , archaeologists are design to resume digging later this class . Aside from find out the settler themselves , they ’re also hoping to find any trace of their town , which also went missing .
" I firmly believe that our programme of re - excavation will provide solvent to the exasperating inquiry that past fieldwork has allow us , " archaeologist Eric Klingelhofer , vice president for research at the non-profit-making First Colony Foundation in Durham , North Carolina , told Science Magazine .
That ’s not the only number of news show to come out regarding Roanoke recently . AsNational Geographicalso reports , there are updates on a renowned stone once thought to bear a message from the colonists , and afterward declared a humbug .
The gemstone was brought to Emory University in Georgia by a mediate - cured tourist , who claim to have see it near the border of North Carolina and Virginia . It appear to have carvings on its aerofoil , which student found appear to be a content from the lost colonists of Roanoke .
Written by Eleanor Dare , the daughter of the regulator John White , it purported to tell of the death of one-half of the settlers , with the relief on the face of it belt down by local Indians . Other stones were later on also reported , also said to have been publish by Dare .
In the 1940s , however , closer scrutiny direct many to the stopping point that the rock were a humbug , with those later pit being made by a Georgia stonecutter . Questions remained over the initial uncovering , however .
Now archaeologists fromBrenau Universityin Georgia and others are hoping to get to the bottom of it . scientist contrive to canvas the inscription , noting that they do not appear to look like a counterfeit . Others advise the sway itself is more likely to date from the 16thcentury than be a recent hoax .
Whatever the case , it look like one of the most enduring mysteries of North America is back in the spot . Now we just need to know what vestige , if any , those miss settler left behind .
