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From Fox News:
A team of researchers believes they may have cracked one of America’s most enduring legends: Where did the settlers of the Roanoke Colony go?
One of the only clues remaining at the site was the word “CROATOAN” carved into a palisade. It either referred to Croatoan Island, which is now called Hatteras Island, or the Croatoan Indians.
The mystery has haunted Americans and Brits for the past four centuries, with several investigations launched into the matter. Whether the colonists were killed by Native Americans, starved to death or left for greener pastures has eluded historians.
Archaeologists believe they did the latter. Mark Horton, an archaeology professor at Royal Agricultural University in England, told Fox News that they found hammerscale, bits of iron from forging. This type of iron-work, found in the middens or rubbish heaps on Hatteras Island, could only have been left by English colonists due to the extreme heat needed to do the work, Horton said.
“The key significance of hammerscale … is that it’s evidence of iron-working, of forging, at that moment,” he said. “Hammerscale is what comes off a blacksmith’s forge.”
Researchers have also found references to people who resemble settlers among the native population.
“We have one little snippet of historical evidence from the 1700s, which describes people with blue or gray eyes who could remember people who used to be able to read from books,” he said. “Also, they said there was this ghost ship that was sent out by a man called Raleigh.”
Horton added, “We think that they assimilated into the Native American community and their descendants, their sons, their granddaughters, their grandsons carried on living on Hatteras Island until the early 18th century.”
As to whether the issue is settled, Horton said people’s imaginations will probably prevail over the limited evidence.
“Have we solved the mystery? Well, you know, it’s pretty good evidence, but there’s always more work to be done,” he said. “And people love mysteries. They hate resolving things one way or the other. So I’m sure that the mystery will continue, you know, whatever the scientific evidence says.”
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