In 1587, a group of English pioneers arrived in modern day Roanoke, Virginia to establish a settlement in the “New World.” After some time, resources ran low for the settlers. Fearful of an unsuccessful expedition, Sir Walter Raleigh, the statesman of the settlement, organized “…another expedition…” to regain supplies and allow “…women and children…to make the voyage” (“The Lost Colony”). The settlement split for approximately three years, sending some men back to Great Britain, and leaving the remaining men behind in Roanoke. After three years, the voyagers returned with women, children and supplies. However, to their shock, Roanoke island was unoccupied. The 115 men, women, and children had vanished for no discernible reason. Upon investigation, Raleigh’s crew discovered “…two clues to their [the missing settlers] whereabouts: the word “Croatoan” carved on a prominent post and “Cro” etched into a tree” (Lawler).Historians have speculated the reason for the disappearance of the settlers ever since. 

Similar to many unresolved mysteries such as the building of the pyramids and Stonehenge, the disappearance of Roanoke led to a catalog of improbable explanations. In fact, the popular television show American Horror Story has an entire season dedicated to a Roanoke conspiracy theory, revolving around supernatural intervention. 

Despite the many fanciful explanations for the disappearance of the settlers, the more commonly accepted academic explanation laid in the etchings on the posts and trees. Croatoan was the name of a Native American tribe found in modern day North Carolina and Virginia, which led historians to conclude a negative relationship between the Native Americans and settlers may have contributed to the disappearance. In fact, TheLostColony.com, Roanoke Island’s tourist website, claims “…Croatoan Amerindians accuse[d] the Roanoke Amerindians of killing the 15 men left…” by the settlers, which at first glance, suggests a conflict sparked between the groups, leading to the settler’s disappearance. However, even this theory is debatable, since it relies heavily on circumstantial evidence directed towards the Croatoan, and lacks the support of archaeological records

The mystery remained unsolved until 2015, when archaeological remains “…suggest(ed) at least some of the abandoned colonists may have survived, possibly splitting into two camps that made their homes with Native Americans” (Lawler). Additionally, archaeologists discovered “…a sword hilt, broken English bowls, and a fragment of a slate writing tablet still inscribed with a letter…” 50 miles southeast of Roanoke (Lawler). The findings suggested the settlers struggled to survive the winter months in the newly established colony, and merged with native tribes as a result.

 Ironically, archaeological findings contradict nearly every aspect of previous theories, which regarded the relationship between the tribes and settlers as violent and combative. Roanoke is a case study for the importance of archaeology in modern society. Prior to the discovery of archaeological remains, historians held a harmful, false interpretation of Roanoke’s past. As a result, some likely negatively viewed the Native American tribes near the Island. If not for these findings, Roanoke’s past would remain unsettled, and therefore open to other mendacious interpretations. 

References:

Lawler, Andrew. “We Finally Have Clues to How the Lost Roanoke Colony Vanished.” Culture, 7 Aug. 2015, www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/150807-lost-colony-roanoke-hatteras-outer-banks-archaeology.

“The Lost Colony.” The Lost Colony, www.thelostcolony.org/#:~:text=In%201587%2C%20117%20English%20men.

Photos:

Figure 1. Jarus, Owen. “What Happened to the “Vanished” Colonists at Roanoke?” Livescience.com, 20 Nov. 2021, www.livescience.com/vanished-colonists-at-roanoke.

Figure 2. Cascone, Sarah. “Archaeologists May Have Finally Solved the Mystery of the Disappearance of Roanoke’s Lost Colony.” Artnet News, 6 Nov. 2020, news.artnet.com/art-world/archaeologists-mystery-lost-roanoke-lost-colony-1921594.

Additional Information: 

Video of conspiracy theories – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDdt_ZHGcUA

More clues about the “Lost Colony” – https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2012/05/07/dnt-nc-lost-colony-clue.wral

On the 26th of April, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine exploded. The explosion released massive amounts of radiation into surrounding areas, which forced thousands of city residents to immediately evacuate. According to the United Nations, “…only 50 deaths can be directly attributed to the disaster…,” however “… they predicted a further 4,000 might eventually die as a result of the radiation exposure” from Chernobyl ( 2019). Pripyat has been studied extensively by radiation scientists but will become especially compelling for archaeologists in the future for two main reasons. 

First, nuclear reactors use a specific radioactive isotope, Uranium-235, to produce energy. Like all elements, U-235 has a fixed half-life, or the amount of time an element takes to lose half of its radioactive atoms. Scientists use half-lives to determine the degree a radioactive element has decayed, which reveals the element’s age. U-235’s half-life is 700 million years, meaning future archaeologists will be able to determine the decay of the reactor core’s Uranium-235, therefore the era in which Chernobyl exploded. 

Secondly, contrary to many archaeological sites, much of Pripyat will be perfectly preserved for future archaeologists. Both the power plant and city are heavily secured by the Ukrainian government due to the dangers of radiation. Since the evacuation of the city in 1986, citizens have been banned from radioactive areas (the power plant, cemetery, etc.)  that will not be safe for thousands of years. Archaeological sites are often damaged or lost due to human activities such as construction or farming. If left undisturbed by the invading Russian forces, Pripyat will likely only be affected by natural disasters and weathering. Future archaeologists will have the Uranium half-life data from the reactor and the city of Pripyat at their disposal to study human activity during the 20th century. 

Archaeology relies on context to generate conclusions on culture. Artifacts are meaningless to archaeologists if they can not be directly related to a specific culture or era. Chernobyl provides context in several ways. Radioactive clocks allow scientists to determine the era in which the city existed. Determining when the city existed provides historical insight into social norms, technology, international affairs, etc. Secondly, the perfectly preserved city will be a time capsule into the 20th century, containing a plethora of first-hand accounts. Chernobyl was a tragedy that resulted in the loss of many human lives. Nevertheless, the site will become incredibly important for archaeologists thousands of years in the future. 

References:

Gray, Richard. “The True Toll of the Chernobyl Disaster.” Www.bbc.com, 26 July 2019, www.bbc.com/future/article/20190725-will-we-ever-know-chernobyls-true-death-toll#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20official%2C%20internationally. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.

Photos: 

Figure 1. Bennett, Matt. “2 Things We Believe: Chernobyl Was Catastrophic, and We Need Nuclear Power More than Ever.” USA TODAY, USA TODAY, 17 June 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/06/17/hbo-chernobyl-tragic-nuclear-power-safe-clean-vital-column/1409096001/.

Figure 2. Gordon, Elizabeth. “5.7: Calculating Half-Life.” Chemistry LibreTexts, 8 July 2017, chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Furman_University/CHM101%3A_Chemistry_and_Global_Awareness_%28Gordon%29/05%3A_Basics_of_Nuclear_Science/5.07%3A_Calculating_Half-Life.

Additional Information:

HBO’s show and the debate on nuclear energy after Chernobyl- https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/miniseries-chernobyl-revolves-around-worst-nuclear-accident-world

The financial/environmental effects of the incident- https://www.thecollector.com/chernobyl-disaster-nuclear-power-plant-lasting-effects/