Digging for Answers: The Continued Search for the Missing Colonists of Roanoke Island

MANTEO, NC- “Digging for Answers: The Continued Search for the Missing Colonists of Roanoke Island” will be presented in the Indoor Theatre at Roanoke Island Festival Park Saturday, April 8, at 1 p.m. in partnership with East Carolina University. Ask about our Park and Program Pass which includes admission to the attraction and the event or $5 for a ticket to the program only. (252) 475-1500. Roanokeisland.com. 

The event will be moderated by author Andrew Lawler who has written about archaeology for National Geographic, Smithsonian, Science, Discover and other publications.  Mr. Lawler will discuss his recent National Geographic reporting on excavations related to the Roanoke Voyages. He will moderate a panel of experts including Mark Horton, PhD University of Bristol, who heads the Cape Creek dig on Hatteras Island; Guy Prentice, PhD, National Park Service Southeast Archeological Center, who oversees excavations at Fort Raleigh and Charlie Ewen, PhD East Carolina University, co-editor of Searching for the Roanoke Colonists.  Artifacts from some of the digs will be on display.  Says Ewen: “find out the latest on the Roanoke colonists by the archaeologists doing the research.”

Roanoke Island Festival Park is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state’s natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susi Hamilton NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state’s history, conserving the state’s natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.

NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette’s Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C.  Zoo, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visitwww.ncdcr.gov.

(PHOTO) East Carolina University students investigate an archaeological site on the N.C. coast.