Roanoke Colony
Vanished English settlers
Roanoke Colony was an English settlement established in 1585 on Roanoke Island off present-day North Carolina—England's first attempted colony in the Americas.
A later group of colonists, arriving in 1587, vanished entirely by 1590, leaving only the word "CROATOAN" carved on a post.
The disappearance remains unexplained, earning it the name "the Lost Colony."
Resolved dispute or colony
- VirginiaMid-Atlantic American state
- charterFounding organizational document
- New WorldWestern Hemisphere landmasses
- English colonistsBritish immigrants to America
Sir Walter Raleigh · 1585 · plantation · Elizabethan · fortification · Algonquian · establishment · pioneers
Disappeared from sight
- abandonedLeft behind completely
- 1590A calendar year
- unexplainedNot yet clarified
- unresolvedLacking final determination
supply shortage · no trace · return voyage · overgrown · silent · evacuated
Something hard to fathom
- unsolvedNot yet figured out
- theoriesExplanations based on evidence
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
conundrum · secrets · perplexing · baffling · riddle · historians · debate · intrigue
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- dig siteArchaeological excavation location
- pottery shardsBroken ceramic fragments
- foundationsStructural bases below ground
earthworks · analysis · preservation · research · findings
Absorbing into a whole
- massacreLarge-scale unlawful killing
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- migrationMovement to new territory
settlement
Resolved dispute or colony
- VirginiaMid-Atlantic American state
- charterFounding organizational document
- New WorldWestern Hemisphere landmasses
Sir Walter Raleigh · English colonists · 1585 · plantation · Elizabethan · fortification · Algonquian · establishment · pioneers · territorial expansion
vanished
Disappeared from sight
- abandonedLeft behind completely
- 1590A calendar year
- unexplainedNot yet clarified
unresolved · supply shortage · no trace · return voyage · overgrown · silent · evacuated
enigma
Something hard to fathom
- unsolvedNot yet figured out
- theoriesExplanations based on evidence
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
puzzle · conundrum · secrets · perplexing · baffling · riddle · historians · debate · intrigue · haunting
excavation
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- dig siteArchaeological excavation location
- pottery shardsBroken ceramic fragments
foundations · earthworks · analysis · preservation · research · findings
assimilation
Absorbing into a whole
- massacreLarge-scale unlawful killing
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
migration · disease · integration · DNA evidence · relocation
- Colonial VirginiaJamestown, James River, tobacco cultivation, Powhatan, Pocahontas
- North CarolinaTar Heel, Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, Outer Banks, Asheville
- American folklorePaul Bunyan, tall tales, folk heroes, John Henry, folk narratives
- mysteriesmystery, enigma, enigmas, puzzle, riddle
- Ocean MysteriesBermuda Triangle, ghost ships, shipwrecks, lost treasure, sea monsters
- Outer BanksOuter Banks, Cape Hatteras, Roanoke Island, Kitty Hawk, barrier islands
Roanoke ColonyJamestown
First permanent English settlement
Plymouth Colony · Massachusetts Bay Colony · St. Augustine · Quebec City · recorded history
colony, colonial, colonist, colonize, colonization, colonies, colonialism, colonialist, colonizer