The Outer Banks and America’s First Attempted English Settlement: Historic Artifacts in the OBX

Published by Croatoan Archaeological Society on Oct. 15, 2023

Explore The Outer Banks history through its first attempted English settlement and the historic artifacts displayed at the Lost Colony Museum.

The narrow run of barrier islands along the North Carolina coast was the setting for the first English attempt to establish a settlement in the New World in the late 16th century. In 1584, English arrivals reached Hatteras Island intending to create a lasting foothold in the Americas. Under John White’s leadership, the colonists encountered severe weather, conflict in the area, and other serious obstacles. When war broke out between England and Spain, conditions worsened further. John White returned to England for supplies and reinforcements, and when he came back, the settlement had been deserted. Today, the history later known in the 20th century as the Roanoke Colony, along with the story of the Croatoan tribe, is being investigated by the Croatoan Archaeology Society (CAS).

CAS, an Outer Banks non-profit, brings together committed professionals and community members who study, locate, and excavate sites tied to the mysterious Roanoke Colony and the Croatoan people. Created by historians, archaeologists, and enthusiasts, the society works to recover artifacts from this compelling chapter of American history. Its work includes archaeological digs, historical research, preservation, and public education such as school field trips. Through fieldwork and study, CAS seeks to protect recovered materials while sharing the history of the Roanoke Colony and Croatoan tribe.

In 2009, CAS began working with Professor of Archaeology Mark Horton of Bristol University, England to excavate Croatoan village locations stretching from Buxton to Hatteras. The digs typically run two or three weeks, and the work has continued once a year since that first excavation.

One recent excavation produced another remarkable discovery among many earlier finds: an Elizabethan aged bronze Tudor Rose with a typology of 1500 to 1550. It was recovered from a Croatoan midden. Hatteras has yielded Elizabethan English artifacts before. Notable discoveries include a Nuremberg token from a casting counter matching three found at Fort Raleigh on Roanoke and another located in Frisco, a swept hilt rapier sword handle with a makers mark, a snaphaunce gunlock, smelted copper bun, writing slate with an image on it, window glass, brass tudor buttons, a glass arrowhead, gun barrel, a range of iron tools, and worked copper.

These objects, together with the Croatoan artifacts recovered alongside them, can be viewed for free at the Lost Colony Museum (Mile 61 next to Fatty's in Buxton, NC). Members of the Croatoan Archaeology Society work to deepen public appreciation for the historical legacy of the Outer Banks and the cultural importance of the Croatoan people in the area. Their efforts add to historical research while helping preserve and honor this region’s distinctive past, connecting earlier generations with the present for those who come next.

Cape Hatteras Secondary School's 8th Grade found buckets of artifacts during a field trip to the Lost Colony Museum.

Author

Croatoan Archaeological Society

The CAS is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, founded in 2009, whose main purpose is to investigate the history of Croatoan, now Hatteras Island, through archaeology while placing the interests of native people and property owners at the highest priority. CAS also works to educate the public and community about the hidden history of Hatteras Island preserved across layers of time.