Recent archaeological excavations on Hatteras Island may have just provided “irrefutable evidence” that sheds light on the fate of the Roanoke settlers and may possibly solve the mystery of the “lost colony.”
Wikimedia CommonsIllustration of the discovery of the inscription “CROATOAN” carved into a tree at Roanoke Colony.
The mystery of the Roanoke Colony has become an important part of American mythology over the years.
According to legend, Sir Walter Raleigh founded a colony in what is now North Carolina in 1585. About 120 people settled there, but after just five years, none of them were left. When an English ship arrived in 1590, the settlement appeared untouched, but the people seemed to disappear all at once, as if they had dissolved.
The settlement was abandoned, and the only clue to what had happened was a single word carved into a tree: “CROATOAN.”
In the more than 400 years since everyone seemed to have disappeared, many theories have been put forward to explain the fate of the Roanoke colonists. Some believed that the settlers met a terrible fate, and rumors of cannibalism began to circulate. Others suggested that the colonists may have perished in the harsh winter conditions.
Even the word “Croatoan” itself – the original name of Hatteras Island and the tribe that lived there – has become the subject of dark mythology.
Some have claimed that poet Edgar Allan Poe uttered the word “Croatoan” shortly before his death. Amelia Earhart allegedly wrote the word in her journal shortly before her fatal final flight. Horror writer Ambrose Bierce reportedly slept with the word etched into his head several nights before his disappearance. Wild West stagecoach robber Black Bart was reportedly held with the word “Croatoan” scrawled on the walls of his cell, and he was never seen again after his release.
However, there is no concrete evidence
Sourse: www.allthatsinteresting.com
