Spooky Trips - Skeleton Lake - How Did 200 + Skeletons End Up Here?
Imagine if you were hiking along a mountain range only to stumble upon a frozen lake. You get closer to take a look only to find that the lake is fucking full of human skeletons! Roll for initiative.
JK.
But that’s what happened in 1942 to Game Reserve Ranger Hari Kishan Madhwal in Roopkund, India. He found at the bottom of a valley a lake that had skeletal remains floating in the water and displayed on the outer rim. This strange lake was in the Himalayas at an altitude of 16,470 feet.
What had caused this? Since it was war time it was assumed these remains were those of Japanese soldiers. But when investigators arrived to take a look they realized these remains were incredibly old, not freshly killed soldiers.
There were over 200 remains in this lake and they remained there as over the years investigators tried to determine what exactly had happened in this spot. It wasn’t until 2004 that it was finally sorted out...or so they believed.
These remains were from 850 AD and there were two different types of people based on the DNA fragments. One was a family/tribe – closely related people. The second group were smaller and shorter. There were spears, wooden artifacts, shoes, and rings found which helped experts narrow down the story. They believed that this was two groups – one a tribe, the other a group of locals leading them through the valley.
But how did they all die in one go? Landslide? Ritual suicide? Mass murder?
Investigators determined that all the bodies had died from similar blows to the head. The cracks in the skull showed that it wasn’t from weapons, but something round, like rocks or hail. The bodies showed damage on the head and shoulders which led experts to know that the assault had come from directly above. So, it was decided – this group of 200 had died from a vicious, violent, large hail storm. They were trapped in the valley with no shelter and died there on the spot. And 1,200 years later, they were found.
Now, there are other investigators who don’t believe this theory. As the years go on, more and more studies are being conducted. Radiocarbon dating shows that there’s a possibility these bodies come from different groups. Some show south Asian ancestry from 800 CE while others show Mediterranean origin from 1800 CE. But that gives us even more questions than answers – if a lot of these bodies have nothing to do with each other – why on earth are they all in the same spot? And do they all show the same blows to the head?
A lot of the skeletons still lay there in this lake and you can visit them! Unfortunately, tourists have made a habit of taking the bones and there’s nothing being done to protect the area. Hopefully soon government agencies can put in place something to conserve this strange lake full of dead bodies so we can continue to study this little death lake. If you do decide to visit, maybe don’t take some bones, maybe just take a look and then leave this graveyard in peace.
It’s truly insane to think how something like this can go so long without discovery – as our planet shifts and moves and the world changes and grows, more and more bizarre discoveries from our deep past are found. This was just another small glimpse into a history we still have a lot to learn about.
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