Skeleton Lake.
In 1942 a British forest guard in Roopkund, India made an alarming discovery. Some 16,000 feet above sea level, at the bottom of a small valley, was a frozen lake absolutely full of skeletons. That summer, the ice melting revealed even more skeletal remains, floating in the water and lying haphazardly around the lake’s edges. Something horrible had happened here.
The immediate assumption (it being war time) was that these were the remains of Japanese soldiers who had died of exposure while sneaking through India. The British government, terrified of a Japanese land invasion, sent a team of investigators to determine if this was true. However upon examination they realized these bones were not from Japanese soldiers—they weren’t fresh enough.
It was evident that the bones were quite old indeed. Flesh, hair, and the bones themselves had been preserved by the dry, cold air, but no one could properly determine exactly when they were from. More than that, they had no idea what had killed over 200 people in this small valley. Many theories were put forth including an epidemic, landslide, and ritual suicide. For decades, no one was able to shed light on the mystery of Skeleton Lake.
However, a 2004 expedition to the site seems to have finally revealed the mystery of what caused those people’s deaths. The answer was stranger than anyone had guessed.
As it turns out, all the bodies date to around 850 AD. DNA evidence indicates that there were two distinct groups of people, one a family or tribe of closely related individuals, and a second smaller, shorter group of locals, likely hired as porters and guides. Rings, spears, leather shoes, and bamboo staves were found, leading experts to believe that the group was comprised of pilgrims heading through the valley with the help of the locals.
All the bodies had died in a similar way, from blows to the head. However, the short deep cracks in the skulls appeared to be the result not of weapons, but rather of something rounded. The bodies also only had wounds on their heads, and shoulders as if the blows had all come from directly above. What had killed them all, porter and pilgrim alike?
Among Himalayan women there is an ancient and traditional folk song. The lyrics describe a goddess so enraged at outsiders who defiled her mountain sanctuary that she rained death upon them by flinging hailstones “hard as iron.” After much research and consideration, the 2004 expedition came to the same conclusion. All 200 people died from a sudden and severe hailstorm.
Trapped in the valley with nowhere to hide or seek shelter, the “hard as iron” cricket ball-sized [about 23 centimeter/9 inches diameter] hailstones came by the thousands, resulting in the travelers’ bizarre sudden death. The remains laid in the lake for 1,200 years until their discovery.
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Senior Chatters
Shadow, What a really interesting story and thanks for posting it .
My pleasure Marie. :).
Wow, utterly fascinating Shadow. I’d never heard of this before, but it completely makes sense. Hailstones can be lethal or they’re big enough. I’ve seen car windshields decimated by hailstone, and a windshield if pretty strong tempered glass.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Ah shoot Shadow I thought it was monkeys on top of the hill throwing coconuts! Good story hon, and very interesting as are all your blogs 🙂 Keep it up! Good reading!
Another very interesting story from you shadow – I enjoy reading your “mysteries”.
Very good shadow enjoys it.thanks
very interesting and enjoyable thank you
You are welcom jojo. You always reply to my post..i dont deserve it. I will try harder to remember yours, becouse your stories are fab. Thanks for comment. :).
pianerman!. I will keep posting the mysteries as long as folk want to read them. Good to see you again and thanks for your comment. :).
So you like my mysteries foreveryoung?. Have i scared ya yet? lol. Glad you like them and thanks. :).
Hey macathy? you are still readng them then?. Happy to hear that. Thanks. :).
Hello patmay . Thank you for your comment, so are you another who likes stories on the ‘ Unexplained?” Hope so. :).