Want to know more about the Roanoke colonies and how archaeology might unearth secret clues? This summer, the First Colony Foundation is offering visitors to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site a special opportunity to learn more about the history of archaeological research on Roanoke Island.

Archaeologists Clay Swindell and Martha Williams will lead park visitors on guided archaeology tours of the park. The walks will focus on established techniques of archaeological survey and excavation, along with the use of new technologies in the field and laboratory. New clues and key discoveries in the search for Sir Walter Raleigh’s Elizabethan colonists and the Algonkian natives who preceded them will also be discussed. These special tours will more fully interpret the temporary archaeology exhibition Beneath the Sand: Past and Present Archaeology at Fort Raleigh inside the visitor center at Fort Raleigh. There visitors can see many of the items excavated on Roanoke Island by National Park Service (NPS) and First Colony Foundation archaeologists.

There is no charge to attend these tours or to visit the park. Both the exhibition and the tours are made possible by a grant from the Percy W. and Elizabeth G. Meekins Charitable Trust and the volunteer efforts of the archaeologists of the First Colony Foundation.

Tour schedule: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Dates: June 16, June 30, July 14, July 28, August 11, August 25 September 8, and September 22, 2012.

For additional information, visit the NPS visitor center at Fort Raleigh.