As has been indicated, the house sites of the colonists have never been
found. They are described as having been decent dwelling houses near the
fort and "about" the fort. They were probably built on the ground
without basements or firm footings. This would explain the difficulty of
finding traces of them. The location of the fort entrance on the west
side would suggest that the main settlement lay west of that point,
toward the upper end of the island. A more precise statement than this
cannot be made at the present time.
[Illustration: FORT RALEIGH
AS RECONSTRUCTED]
GUN EMBRASURE
RAMP
DITCH
FIRING STEP
GUN PLATFORM
STOCKADE
TOP OF EMBANKMENT
APRIL 1952 NMS-RAL-7003
[Illustration: _Comparisons of the fort on Roanoke Island with other
forts of the period._ (a) _The fort on Roanoke Island_; (b) _the
fort built in Puerto Rico by Ralph Lane_; (c) _a conventional fort
with corner bastions_.]