One Of The World's Greatest Mysteries Might Be Solved, New Evidence Raises Questions
The mystery has been unsolved for more than 400 years.
New evidence suggests the mystery of the Lost Roanoke Colony might finally be solved.
The Lost Colony is one of the world's greatest mysteries, and it's remained unsolved for hundreds of years. What happened to the people of the Roanoke Colony has been the center of books, movies, online debate and plenty of conversations.
The story is shockingly simple, but yet, no answers have ever been found. The settlers of Roanoke disappeared at some point in the 1580s or early 1590 without explanation and were never seen from or heard from again.
All that was left behind were carvings of "CROATOAN" and "CRO."
*RELATED: Noah's Ark Allegedly Found, Archeologists Plan On Digging It Up: DETAILS*
What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)
Has the mystery of the Lost Roanoke Colony been solved?
To this day, nobody has ever been able to drill down on what happened. That might be changing, thanks to some researchers.
Archaeologists Mark Horton and Scott Dawson believe they've uncovered evidence to suggest the settlers assimilated with the Croatoans - a very popular theory.
The pair found hammerscale metal shavings after digging around Buxton, North Carolina, according to the Daily Mail. Hammerscale is a byproduct of metalworking. It's a technology the natives wouldn't have had, according to Horton and Dawson.
Horton told the Daily Mail, "The hammerscale shows that English settlers lived among the Croatoans on Hatteras and were ultimately absorbed into their community. Once and for all, this smoking gun evidence answers any questions about the supposed mystery of the lost colony."
Has the mystery of the Lost Roanoke Colony finally been solved? New evidence suggests it has been. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The most common theory has long been that the settlers integrated with the Croatoans. The main reason why is the fact "CROATOAN" was left behind as a message by the settlers when they disappeared.
It would make sense that people leaving would try to leave some kind of message behind to indicate where they were headed.
Yet, there's never been concrete proof that's what actually happened. Mark Horton and Scott Dawson finding evidence of metal working in the region where the Croatoans lived seems like rock-solid evidence Europeans with those skills linked up with them.
What do you think of the mystery of the Lost Roanoke Colony? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.