BUXTON, N.C. (AP) — The ground teems with evidence that John White's Lost Colony came here.

A few shovelfuls of earth in a school yard or private driveway can uncover relics dating to the late 1500s, when English settlers landed on - and then mysteriously left - Roanoke Island 50 miles to the north.

Mark Horton, a professor and archaeologist from England's University of Bristol, and local historian Scott Dawson have led digs in Buxton backyards and wooded lots within sight of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse every year since 2009.

Each trip turns up thousands of artifacts including coins, parts of...