The Lost American Colony Guest: Scott Dawson, author of “The Lost Colony and Hatteras Island” In 1587 a group of over one hundred English colonists departed to start a colony on Roanoke Island. After the leader John White left for a resupply in England he returned to find nothing left. What happened to these colonists and why can't we solve the mystery of the lost colony. Atlantis: An Ancient Allegory Guest: Stephen Kershaw, Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, and author of "The Search for Atlantis: A History of Plato’s Ideal State," and most recently "Barbarians: Rebellion and Resistance to the Roman Empire" Atlantis is a Platonic, mythical allegory demonstrating the corruption of a previously moral society. But most people don't care about the allegory, they just want to find a mystical city. Plato would shake his head in disbelief if he could see what we've done with his tale.