# Lawler 2017: The mystery of Roanoke endures yet another cruel twist

> Andrew Lawler, 2017. 9 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The test of the best-known Hatteras find; journalism, not a peer-reviewed report.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CQCBXV63SFJ/the-mystery-of-roanoke-endures-yet-another-cruel-twist  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Lost Colony of Roanoke](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke)Lawler 2017

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# The mystery of Roanoke endures yet another cruel twist

Andrew Lawler, 2017. _Smithsonian Magazine_.

Reports (7 April 2017) that X-ray fluorescence at East Carolina University, by state conservator Erik Farrell for Charles Ewen's team, found the "Kendall" signet ring from Hatteras Island to be brass with no gold or gilding, a likely mass-produced trade item; the ring had been found in 1998 by David Phelps among artifacts of 1670–1720. Mark Horton argues it could be an heirloom; Charles Heath says a stray object does not make a colony site.

**Lost Colony of Roanoke** Web pageChecked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The test of the best-known Hatteras find; journalism, not a peer-reviewed report.

## Cited by on this site 9 records

[No; the English objects are later trade goods or heirlooms reaching a Croatoan town.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/answers/ANS0CQCCEY22EP8/no-the-english-objects-are-later-trade-goods-or-heirlooms)

Answer

ANS

[Signet ring with a lion seal, Hatteras Island](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/artifacts/ART0CQCCN1C61PD/signet-ring-with-a-lion-seal-hatteras-island)

ART

[Horton reported an Elizabethan-type rapier hilt.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/evidence/EVD0CQCCEP8142E/horton-reported-an-elizabethan-type-rapier-hilt)

Evidence

EVD

[The Hatteras signet ring is brass, of a common trade type, and was found among artifacts of 1670–1720.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/evidence/EVD0CQCC8TR7SHG/the-hatteras-signet-ring-is-brass-of-a-common-trade-type-and)

Evidence

EVD

[The ring is brass, of a mass-produced type, found among artifacts of 1670–1720.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/evidence/EVD0CQCCF5W777V/the-ring-is-brass-of-a-mass-produced-type-found-among)

Evidence

EVD

[David Phelps finds a signet ring at a Native village site on Hatteras Island](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/events/EVT0CQCC4NY0YZF/david-phelps-finds-a-signet-ring-at-a-native-village-site-on)

EVT

[X-ray fluorescence shows the Hatteras ring is brass](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/events/EVT0CQCC5DC7AXW/x-ray-fluorescence-shows-the-hatteras-ring-is-brass)

EVT

[The Lost Colony of Roanoke](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke)

The mystery article

MYS

[Do the Hatteras Island excavations show that colonists lived at Croatoan?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/lost-colony-roanoke/questions/QST0CQCC7BW02SK/do-the-hatteras-island-excavations-show-that-colonists-lived)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Lawler, A. (2017). The mystery of Roanoke endures yet another cruel twist. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mystery-roanoke-endures-yet-another-cruel-twist-180962837/
```

[Read it free at smithsonianmag.com](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mystery-roanoke-endures-yet-another-cruel-twist-180962837/)

Key

**SRC** 0CQCBXV63SFJ

Kind

Web page

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

29 Oct 2026, for editors

Checked

Against the published original

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

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