Page 28 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - September 2023
P. 28

28                The Mystery of the Crystal Skull Solved





         THE MYSTERY OF THE


               CRYSTAL SKULL
                       SOLVED




        A strange fad emerged in the early
        20th century. Life-size facsimiles of
        human skulls carved from clear quartz

        began showing up in the collections of
        museums and wealthy treasure
        hunters. Purported to have magical
        powers, these crystal skulls came with

        action-packed accounts of their
        discoveries and otherworldly tales of
        their origins. But who made them?
        When, where, and how they were

        made? That's the mystery. Here's the
        story of the most fascinating of them
        all the Mitchell-Hedges skull.

                                                         late 19th century, the true nature of these studying the artifact in his lab, Dorland
        THE PLACE OF FALLEN Mesoamerican artifacts has been a theorized that it was carved not from one
        STONES                                           source of heated debate - and the most but from 3 crystals. But he needed better
                                                         controversial is the Mitchell- Hedges equipment to prove it, so he took the skull
        British Honduras, 1924: intrepid British         skull.  The big question: who made it? to Hewlett-Packard’s crystal labs in Santa

        adventurer F.  A. Mitchell-Hedges is             Theories range from the ancient Mayans Clara, California. Initial test determined
        exploring the ruins of the lost Mayan city       two cultures that predate them (such as that it is comprised of a single crystal but
        of Lubaantun, which means, “Place of             the people who traveled to Central that's about the only conclusive thing that
        Fallen Stones.” joining him on the               America from the lost city of Atlantis). they were able to find.
        expedition is his adopted daughter Anna.         There are even claims that the crystal
        It's her 17th birthday. While the rest of        skulls were deposited on Earth by aliens. •             It appeared that whoever made the
        the Mitchell-Hedges team is taking a             F.A. Mitchell-Hedges first referred to his thing did it in “total disregard to the
        siesta,  Anna climbs to the top of a             as the “Skull of Doom,” The power of natural crystal axis,” said Dorland. if you
        pyramid to get a view of the ocean. But          which he said could “kill a man.” and carve against the axis, the crystal should

        something at her feet catches her eye,           even though he said he wanted to be shatter, or, as one crystallographer put it,
        there's a light emanating from a hole in         buried with it, when he died in 1959 it “the damn thing shouldn't even be.”
        the stones. She crouches down and peers          became the property of his daughter,
        into the dark room, and there, under             Anna, and she wasn't sure what to do •                  The HP techs could find no
        crumbled altar, is a glowing human skull         with it. “It is a thing of evil in the wrong microscopic indications of cut marks
        made of clear quartz crystal. Anna runs          hands, End Quote she said at the time.           made by metal instruments, so exactly
        back down the pyramid as fast as she can                                                          how it was made remained a mystery.
        yelling for her father to come and see           AXIS OF POWER
        what she found. Later, they lower Anna -                                                          •      Further tests determined that the
        the smallest member of the team - via a In 1964 Anna Mitchell-Hedges lent the                     skull was probably polished by hand with
        rope into the room. She picks up the             crystal skull to a San Francisco art             sand over a period of time “300 man-
        heavy artifact and can immediately feel conservator named Frank Dorland in the                    years of effort.”

        its power.                                       hopes of finding out where the Crystal
                                                         Skull came from. “The first time I kept          By that point (around 1970),  Anna
        The local Mayans later tell Mitchell- the skull in my home overnight,”                            Mitchell-Hedges had had enough of
        Hedges that if the government finds out          Dorland told author Richard Garvin in            scientific studies. She took a greyhound
        about their discovery, the crystal skull         his book  The Crystal Skull, “I was              bus to California, retrieved her crystal
        will be confiscated, so they give the            awakened by unusual noises. It sounded           skull from Dorland, and never let
        father and daughter permission to take it        like a large jungle cat was prowling             scientists near it for the rest of her life.
        out of the country.                              through the house, accompanied by the
                                                         sound of chimes and bells. When we got                              (Continued on Page 29)

        THE SKULL OF DOOM                                up the next morning, our possessions
                                                         were strewn all about the house. Yet, all           THE BEST CLASSIC RADIO STATION
        That's one story of where this crystal           the doors and windows were still closed             WITH THE HITS THAT MADE MUSIC
        skull came from. There are other stories,        and locked from the inside.”                      HISTORY IN THE 60’S, 70’S, 80’S AND 90’S
                                                                                                            IS NOW ON-AIR IN ST. CATARINES AND
        and other skulls: one is on display in the                                                                   AROUND THE WORLD
        Musee du Quai Branly in Paris; other             The skull spent six years in the care of                           ON-LINE
                                                                                                                       CLASSIC 1220 CFAJ
        lives in the archives of the Smithsonian         Dorland, who, like others who have                          WWW.CLASSIC1220.CA
        Museum in Washington, D.C. since the             owned it, became obsessed with it. after
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