Exploring the Unknown

Exploring the Unknown. . A furnace burned hot as metallurgist Joachim Gans and scientist Thomas Hariot conducted tests on local minerals and plants. Sent by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585 as part of a larger expedition, these scientists built a workshop on this spot to gain an understanding of the new world in which they hoped to settle., Food shortages and conflicts with some native tribes led the English settlers to abandon Roanoke Island after only eleven months. However, the data gathered by the scientists provided valuable information on the surrounding land and native people when the English launched a new settlement attempt in 1587., (center caption) Artist's conception of the workshop interior showing Joachim Gans and Thomas Hariot conducting experiments., Uncovering the Past, How do you solve a 400-year-old mystery? Some clues may be found in the objects left behind. Archeologists sift through these clues like detectives, increasing our understanding of the past., (center right caption) First excavated in 1959, the historic use of this structure was a mystery until 1991, when archeologists discovered artifacts that revealed the building's function., (lower right caption) Artifacts discovered on this site include pieces of crucibles (heat-resistant pottery for melting metal), furnace bricks, and smelted copper ore.