MANTEO, NORTH CAROLINA—Two small fragments of pottery discovered near the shores of Roanoke Island could be linked to the colonization attempts sponsored by English courtier Sir Walter Raleigh. Eric Deetz, an archaeologist with the First Colony Foundation, thinks the blue, white, and brown fragments were part of a jar that held ointment or medicine, and may have belonged to Thomas Harriot or another member of the lost colony. Harriot traveled to North Carolina in 1585, on the second of three trips sponsored by Raleigh, and he is known to have studied the local plants and animals. The pottery was found near the site where the remains of a barrel well—a well lined with barrels whose tops and bottoms have been removed—were uncovered in the 1980s. “That pottery had something to do with the Elizabethan presence on that island,” Deetz said in a report by The Virginian-Pilot. National Park Service cultural resource manager Jami Lanier adds that additional artifacts may be found in the area. The excavation of the site is a priority because of the danger of it eroding away. To read about another recent discovery in Virginia, go to "Ship Underground."
