Pottery Shards From Lost Settlers: A Summary

As a result of the lack of food and water, the surviving colonists moved to different locations in an attempt to find the necessary resources in order to survive. If they were to have stayed and waited for John White to come back, they would have died of hunger or disease. Right before they departed, they used the last of the medicine and forgot to dispose of the shards, which were the remnants left at their settlement. When the colonists left, some of the them were still ill and needed more medicine, which also led them to leave their settlement and journey with the Croatans in search for more resources. The natives were thought to be “animal-like” and down to earth people and knew of herbs and plants that could heal the colonists. The word “CROATAN” was left for John White to know who they had gone with as they were searching for help.

These remains were determined to be common jar fragments that held medicines or were used as containers to mix salves. With the diseases that the Europeans brought down, they were in constant need of making salves and medicines to treat themselves. Eric Deetz stated in the article, “Roanoke Colony Archaeologists Find Pottery Shards from Lost Settlers”, “It was an exciting find. That pottery had something to do with the Elizabethan presence on that island.” The discovery was considered “the most significant find” since 1490, because it was found about 75 yards away from the area which was considered to be their