In 1587 the English sent a group of hardy, hopeful colonists to make a go of it in the New World. But when English ships returned with supplies just three years later, they found the settlement empty and the colonists gone. Only one clue was left behind: the word "Croatoan" carved in the gatepost of their fort. To this day, the fate of the colonists and the location of the original settlement remain a mystery.
It is one of the oldest mysteries in American history, which is why Time Team America traveled to Roanoke Island to find evidence of what is known as the "Lost Colony". The Team was there to help answer these questions:
- Can we find evidence of the colony (what it might have looked like)?
- What was life like for those first English colonists?
- What happened to the "Lost Colony" of Fort Raleigh?