First Colony Foundation archaeologists zero in on site of Algonquian village
Published 8:08 am Thursday, May 4, 2023
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First Colony Foundation volunteers conduct a previous dig at Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island, while FCF officer Alastair Macdonald observes. First Colony Foundation photo
Theodor de Bry’s 1590 print of the first English arrival at Roanoke in 1584, showing the Native American village. Library of Congress
Ground penetrating radar tests at Roanoke Island’s Elizabethan Gardens may soon reveal the location of an Algonquian village, where local natives entertained the first English explorers to America’s shores in 1584, a spokesman for First Colony Foundation says. Results are expected by May.
The expanded survey, which began in April, will again be conducted on behalf of First Colony by Chartrand Geoarchaeological Solutions of Williamsburg, Va., which conducted initial ground tests at the gardens site in January. The goal is to locate evidence for the as-yet-undiscovered Algonquian village of Roanoac. When completed, the electronic survey will create three-dimensional views of the site, buried beneath at least six feet of sand dune.
“Roanoke is such a place of mystery,” says Eric Klingelhofer, one of FCF’s vice presidents for research. “So much has already been lost to the sands of time, which is why finding the site of this Algonquian village will be an important step forward in in understanding America’s beginnings so long ago.”
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Captains Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlow visited the village during their 1584 reconnaissance mission, aimed at establishing the first English settlement in America. The explorers described the village as consisting of “of nine houses, built of cedar, and fortified round with sharp trees,” as protection against their enemies.
“The Elizabethan Gardens is…