SOURCE URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island FETCHED VIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island DATE FETCHED: 2026-09-14 06:00 UTC CONTENT-TYPE: text/html; charset=UTF-8 SIZE: 95626 bytes ============================================================================== Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation * [Main page](/wiki/Main_Page "Visit the main page \[z\]") * [Contents](/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents "Guides to browsing Wikipedia") * [Current events](/wiki/Portal:Current_events "Articles related to current events") * [Random article](/wiki/Special:Random "Visit a randomly selected article \[x\]") * [About Wikipedia](/wiki/Wikipedia:About "Learn about Wikipedia and how it works") * [Contact us](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us "How to contact Wikipedia") Contribute * [Help](/wiki/Help:Contents "Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia") * [Learn to edit](/wiki/Help:Introduction "Learn how to edit Wikipedia") * [Community portal](/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal "The hub for editors") * [Recent changes](/wiki/Special:RecentChanges "A list of recent changes to Wikipedia \[r\]") * [Upload file](/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard "Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia") * [Special pages](/wiki/Special:SpecialPages "A list of all special pages \[q\]") [ ](/wiki/Main_Page) [ Search ](/wiki/Special:Search "Search Wikipedia \[f\]") Search Appearance * [Donate](https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en) * [Create account](/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=The+Lost+Colony+and+Hatteras+Island "You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory") * [Log in](/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=The+Lost+Colony+and+Hatteras+Island "You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. \[o\]") Personal tools * [ Donate](https://donate.wikimedia.org/?wmf_source=donate&wmf_medium=sidebar&wmf_campaign=en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en) * [ Create account](/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=The+Lost+Colony+and+Hatteras+Island "You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory") * [ Log in](/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=The+Lost+Colony+and+Hatteras+Island "You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. \[o\]") ## Contents move to sidebar hide * (Top) * 1 Synopsis * 2 Background * 3 Reception * 4 References Toggle the table of contents # _The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island_ Add languages [Add links](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q135038546#sitelinks-wikipedia "Add interlanguage links") * [Article](/wiki/The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island "View the content page \[c\]") * [Talk](/wiki/Talk:The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island "Discuss improvements to the content page \[t\]") English * [Read](/wiki/The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island) * [Edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=edit "Edit this page \[e\]") * [View history](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=history "Past revisions of this page \[h\]") Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions * [ Read](/wiki/The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island) * [ Edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=edit "Edit this page \[e\]") * [ View history](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=history "Past revisions of this page \[h\]") General * [What links here](/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island "List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page \[j\]") * [Related changes](/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island "Recent changes in pages linked from this page \[k\]") * [Upload file](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard "Upload files \[u\]") * [Permanent link](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&oldid=1362249597 "Permanent link to this revision of this page") * [Page information](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=info "More information about this page") * [Cite this page](/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&id=1362249597&wpFormIdentifier=titleform "Information on how to cite this page") * [Get shortened URL](/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FThe_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island) * [Switch to legacy parser](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&useparsoid=0) Print/export * [Download as PDF](/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=show-download-screen "Download this page as a PDF file") * [Printable version](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&printable=yes "Printable version of this page \[p\]") In other projects * [Wikidata item](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q135038546 "Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata \[g\]") Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 2020 non-fiction book by Scott Dawson The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island.jpg) --- Author| Scott Dawson Genre| Non-fiction Published| 2020 Publication place| United States **The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island** is a 2020 non-fiction book by Scott Dawson, a researcher from [Hatteras Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatteras_Island "Hatteras Island"). The book argues that the colonists of the [Roanoke Colony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony "Roanoke Colony") were not lost, but were taken in by the [Croatoan tribe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatan "Croatan") on Hatteras Island and assimilated into their society. Dawson developed his hypothesis through archaeological fieldwork and historical research conducted alongside archaeologist [Mark Horton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Horton_\(archaeologist\) "Mark Horton \(archaeologist\)") of the [University of Bristol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bristol "University of Bristol") and others affiliated with the Croatoan Archaeological Society. The book received coverage from outlets including _[The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times")_ and _[The Virginian-Pilot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virginian-Pilot "The Virginian-Pilot")_ , though some scholars questioned its conclusions, arguing that the physical evidence could be explained by trade rather than settlement. ## Synopsis [[edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=edit§ion=1 "Edit section: Synopsis")] The book attempts to dismantle the long-standing mystery of the [Roanoke Colony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony "Roanoke Colony") by arguing that the colonists were taken in by the [Croatoan tribe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatan "Croatan") on [Hatteras Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatteras_Island "Hatteras Island") and assimilated into their society. ## Background [[edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=edit§ion=2 "Edit section: Background")] Dawson, a researcher from Hatteras Island, worked with archaeologists, geologists, botanists and other researchers,[1] including archaeologist [Mark Horton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Horton_\(archaeologist\) "Mark Horton \(archaeologist\)") from the [University of Bristol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bristol "University of Bristol"), to collect evidence for the colony's fate.[2] They established the Croatoan Archaeological Society,[1] and conducted archaeological fieldwork and historical research at sites like Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras.[3] Evidence of English activity on Hatteras like guns, mixed architecture,[4] and large-scale [blacksmithing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmith "Blacksmith") during the 16th century was presented by them as proof that the colonists had moved there.[5][6] The accounts of English explorers like [Arthur Barlowe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Barlowe "Arthur Barlowe") and [John Lawson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lawson_\(explorer\) "John Lawson \(explorer\)") provided a basis for Dawson's hypothesis,[7] including claims that blue-eyed people were found living among the Croatoans years later.[8] ## Reception [[edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=edit§ion=3 "Edit section: Reception")] The book's claims were reported by multiple newspapers at the time of its publication, including _[The Virginian-Pilot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virginian-Pilot "The Virginian-Pilot")_[9] and _[The New York Times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times")_.[2] Peter Vankevich of the _[Ocracoke Observer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocracoke_Observer "Ocracoke Observer")_ wrote that "Dawson’s book is a good history/archeology primer. It is well-written and accessible for the lay reader."[10] However, some scholars rejected its claims due to a lack of solid proof, arguing that English material artifacts could have reached Hatteras Island through trade instead of settlement.[11] ## References [[edit](/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&action=edit§ion=4 "Edit section: References")] 1. 1 2 ["Evidence Grows, the Lost Colony Split Up"](https://www.pbsnc.org/blogs/science/lost-colony-split/). _PBS North Carolina_. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 2. 1 2 Yuhas, Alan (2020-09-01). ["Roanoke's 'Lost Colony' Was Never Lost, New Book Says"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/us/Roanoke-lost-colony.html). _The New York Times_. [ISSN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISSN_\(identifier\) "ISSN \(identifier\)") [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2025-06-09. 3. ↑ ["Meet the Man Who says the Lost Colony Wasn't Lost | Outer Banks, NC"](https://outerbanksthisweek.com/blog/meet-man-who-says-lost-colony-wasnt-lost). _outerbanksthisweek.com_. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 4. ↑ ["The Lost Colony wasn't really lost"](https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2020/06/19/the-lost-colony-wasnt-really-lost/). _The Outer Banks Voice_. 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 5. ↑ ["New artifacts on Hatteras point to the real fate of the Lost Colony"](https://www.whro.org/arts-culture/2025-01-20/new-artifacts-on-hatteras-point-to-the-real-fate-of-the-lost-colony). _WHRO Public Media_. 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 6. ↑ ["'Smoking gun' evidence of Lost Colony's relocation to Hatteras Island makes international news"](https://islandfreepress.org/hatteras-island-features/smoking-gun-evidence-of-lost-colonys-relocation-to-hatteras-island-makes-international-news/). _Island Free Press_. 2025-05-15. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 7. ↑ ["The Lost Colony Museum in Buxton is on a mission to reshape history"](https://islandfreepress.org/hatteras-island-features/the-lost-colony-museum-in-buxton-is-on-a-mission-to-reshape-history/). _Island Free Press_. 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 8. ↑ ["Unraveling the mystery of the Lost Colony"](https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2025/05/17/unraveling-the-mystery-of-the-lost-colony/). _The Outer Banks Voice_. 2025-05-17. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 9. ↑ Hampton, Jeff (2020-08-17). ["'The mystery is over': Researchers say they know what happened to 'Lost Colony'"](https://www.pilotonline.com/2020/08/17/the-mystery-is-over-researchers-say-they-know-what-happened-to-lost-colony/). _The Virginian-Pilot_. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 10. ↑ Vankevich, Peter (2020-12-27). ["Was 'The Lost Colony' really lost or just decamped to Hatteras Island?"](https://ocracokeobserver.com/2020/12/27/was-the-lost-colony-really-lost-or-just-decamped-to-hatteras-island/). _Ocracoke Observer_. Retrieved 2025-06-09. 11. ↑ ["Mystery of the Lost Colony Solved? Not So Fast! - St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum | Blog"](https://stlukesmuseum.org/edu-blog/mystery-of-the-lost-colony-solved-not-so-fast/). _St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum_. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2025-06-09. Retrieved from "[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&oldid=1362249597](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&oldid=1362249597)" [Categories](/wiki/Help:Category "Help:Category"): * [2020 non-fiction books](/wiki/Category:2020_non-fiction_books "Category:2020 non-fiction books") * [2020 English-language non-fiction books](/wiki/Category:2020_English-language_non-fiction_books "Category:2020 English-language non-fiction books") * [Books about North Carolina](/wiki/Category:Books_about_North_Carolina "Category:Books about North Carolina") * [History books about Roanoke Colony](/wiki/Category:History_books_about_Roanoke_Colony "Category:History books about Roanoke Colony") Hidden categories: * [Articles with short description](/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description "Category:Articles with short description") * [Short description is different from Wikidata](/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata "Category:Short description is different from Wikidata") * This page was last edited on 2 July 2026, at 19:30 (UTC). * Page was rendered with [Parsoid](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Parsoid "mw:Special:MyLanguage/Parsoid"). * Text is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License "Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"); additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the [Terms of Use](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use "foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use") and [Privacy Policy](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy "foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy"). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the [Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.](https://wikimediafoundation.org/), a non-profit organization. * [Privacy policy](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy) * [About Wikipedia](/wiki/Wikipedia:About) * [Disclaimers](/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer) * [Contact Wikipedia](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us) * [Legal & safety contacts](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_and_Safety_Contact_Information) * [Code of Conduct](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct) * [Developers](https://developer.wikimedia.org) * [Statistics](https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org) * [Cookie statement](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement) * [Mobile view](//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lost_Colony_and_Hatteras_Island&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile) * [](https://www.wikimedia.org/) * [](https://www.mediawiki.org/) Search Search Toggle the table of contents _The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island_ Add languages Add topic