In a show produced by a local man, archaeologists say Spanish artifacts in western N.C. predate 'Lost Colony'

A public television show produced by a local man and airing tonight features archeological work that could change how North Carolinians view the early history of the state.

"The First Lost Colony" is the segment airing locally at 8:30 p.m. on UNC-TV's "Exploring North Carolina" on Suddenlink channel 4. The show was co-produced and photographed by Pitt County resident Joe Albea.

"The First Lost Colony" examines the work archeologists from North Carolina, South Carolina and Illinois are doing at a Burke County farm. Scientists are certain it is the location of Fort San Juan, one of five colonies the Spanish established in the interior United States about 20 years before the British sent its failed colony to Roanoke Island in what is now Dare County. That group of men and women became the storied "Lost Colony" that vanished, leaving only the word "Croatoan" carved on a tree.