| MYSTERIES |
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| ENIGMATIC SKULLS The Mayan Crystal Skulls |
| In the late 19th century, a number of crystal skulls were found on various digs in Mexico, dating back to the time of the Mayas. While science tries to find answers to the historical and archaeological questions in connection with these finds, New Age followers claim these objects have an enormous spiritual power. What we want to look at now is the most famous and most argued about of these crystal skulls - the Mitchell-Hedges skull. In the early 1920, archaeologist Dr. Thomas Gann announced the discovery of the ruins of an ancient city close by the Rio Grande, in the then-british Honduras, not too far from the guatemaltecan frontier. This city was believed to be older than any other of the Maya, and its builders were unknown. Gann and his assistants called the city "Lubaantun" - which, in Maya, means "Place of the fallen Stones". On this dig the teenage daughter of explorer and adventurer F.A. Mitchell-Hedges found, back in 1927, a mysterious artefact: a flawless crystal skull. In contrary to the crystal skull in possession of the Museum of Mankind in London, which is in one piece, this one was comprised of two pieces: the cranium and a detachable mandible. It's of female configuration, 5" high, 11 3/4 pounds, and was carved from a single piece of crystal quartz, believed to be between 1000 and 3600 years old, depending on what expert you ask. If this skull is not a fraud, it's an artefact of unbelievable value, and one which is, at the same time, a mystery to scientists all over the word. It would take about 150 years to get the quarz crystal, a material almost as hard as diamond, in this shape by using sand! There are hidden prisms in the base and handground lenses in the eyes - that's what produces the skulls amazing luminescence. Naturally, the scientists who first examined the skull thought of fraud, but up to this day, no traces of the use of modern-day tools could be found. Actually, whoever created this artefact ignored the crystalline structure; modern lapidaries would never do this. Up to this day, the question "real or fake" causes heated arguments among scientists. If the skull *is* real, and *was* created by the Maya, it would be the proof that the mayan technology was by far more advanced than science thought. It would mean that the Maya had the tools to form burning glasses - as a matter of fact, Mitchell-Hedges supposed the Mayan might have used the crystal skull itself as a burning glass. Among the natives of the area, there are myths about the crystal skulls, passed on from generation to generation, which say that the high priest was able to kill every enemy using the skull. It's considered to be the incarnation of evil. Now, *if* the skull really was used as a burning glass, we can only imagine what power it gave to the highpriest who was able to create fire with it. |
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| So far for the facts. And now we come to the more dubious aspects of the skull. Soon after its discovery, it became known as the "Skull of Doom". Though not as notorious as Tut-Ankh-Amun's curse, the skull was held responsible for a row of inexplicable deaths among those who got in contact with it. A research assistant insisted he saw pictures in the crystal, somebody else stated he'd heard the skull "growl." Many reports agree that the skull seems to force an extraordinary feeling of thirst. There are theories the skull was created in Atlantis, or a "booby trap" set up by aliens. Satanists claim it was created by the devil himself, others are convinced it was sent from heaven. Books have been written about the "burning glass of the universe", paranormal powers are suspected in the skull, and some even insist it's a communication tool with "the other side", allowing to contact the deceased. |
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| Looking at these theories, the idea of Dr. Daniel Jackson being put out of phase by a crystal skull all of a sudden doesn't sound *that* far fetched anymore! For those interested: the crystal skull in possession of the British Museum in London will next go on display in the Wellcome Trust Gallery in Autumn 2003. |
| "It growled!" "I'd rather say it burped ..." Daniel Jackson and his grandfather Nick Ballard in "Crystal Skull" |