What would you do if you find a skull in a pub which has been in your family for generations? Obviously, you would keep it with you because of the fact that there are so many sentiments attached to it. This family who owned a pub in England were taken aback when they found something inside the skull. This was something really baffling as they never paid any close attention to it but when they did, things didn't remain the same for the family. What was it that this family found out? You'll find out soon.
One morning a strange email was sent to a Danish lecturer about a mysterious skull. The skull was found in a southern English pub and this scholar was really amazed. Intrigued by the mail he was ready to go the depth of this mystery. Who could have imagined that this email would change his life forever leaving him in a state of amazement? Soon, he found out that one note which was hidden inside the skull for centuries. What was the note about?
It was Dr. Kim Wagner who was a senior lecturer at the Queen Mary University of London received an anonymous email which was about the unknown human skull that had something hidden inside it. The email didn't reveal any further information except the location of the pub. Dr. Wagner loved British imperial history and he was more than happy to go on this new adventure of his life. He knew that this could all turn out to be some kind of prank but still, he remained optimistic about this new venture.
Dr. Wagner was on his way to teach the classroom. Before he left for the class he stopped for a second to see an email notification that just popped on his screen. The moment he opened the mail which was nothing like regular mail we get but was something else entirely. It was a mail from a family who stated in the mail that they have discovered a skull in the storeroom of the pub. They also told that they inherited the skull from their parents when they left the pub to their hands. They weren't sure what to do with that skull, they notified Dr. Wagner about this discovery.
The family who discovered this skull in the pub's backroom under a stack of junk were taken aback by the discovery. It's not every day we find a skull in our house unless you don't keep it knowingly which would be strange and creepy. The pub, Lord Clyde came under this family's name in 1963 which was located in the seaside town of Walmer. Dr. Wagner was already intrigued just by the name of the skull and he was excited to see the skull in person. What happened when he noticed a hidden message inside the skull?
Dr. Wagner was no child and he has also received several emails like this before. And there were times when they turned out to be nothing. But then, he was feeling the seriousness of this situation and somewhere back in his mind he knew that he has heard of this skull before but where he wasn't able to recall it. He was searching for more clues about the skull but unfortunately, there was none. Dr. Wagner talked to the family and asked if he could know more about it or was there any other information they would be able to provide?
Dr. Wagner called up the family and told them about the email they sent regarding the skull they discovered in the pub they now owned. The family was surprised to hear it from Dr. Wagner in such a short time. He asked if they could tell him more about the skull or if they can arrange a meeting as early as possible so that he can reach any conclusion about the skull. The main question that was revolving around the skull was if it was even worth something.
The next day Dr. Wagner was ready to meet the family and the skull that was already in his head 24/7 now. The family greeted the scholar and asked him to sit down before they went further with the discovery for which the scholar was waiting as a child that was ready to receive the gift for the first time. The family was well-mannered and talked to him in a really nice way. After they were finished with the introduction they brought out the discovery in front of Dr. Wagner and he couldn't control his excitement. His hands were shaking as he held the skull. He needed to investigate the skull before he could say anything for sure.
The skull wasn't in a very good condition because of the obvious reason. Firstly, it was unknown to the family and they only found it when they were cleaning the back room of the pub. Secondly, the skull was really old and due to its poor caring, it got yellowed with age. The skull was also missing its jaw bone and several teeth. But still, there was that one thing which was still intact in the skull. What did Dr. Wagner find during his investigation?
The family was sitting quietly in the living room while Dr. Wagner was going through other details of the skull. He seemed pretty much lost in the skull. The family called out his name but there was no response from his side as he was that much into the skull. The family waited for Dr. Wagner to tell them something or anything about the skull but they had to wait a little longer as all he said to the family was that he needed to take this skull back to the lab.
The skull was now placed on a cloth under better lighting and proper instruments and Dr. Wagner was busy getting hold of its minute details that faded away with time. Dr. Wagner knew that he needed some more expertise in this investigation as there were some links which were missing from the skull. He called up few of his colleagues, told them about the discovery which made them very curious because just like Dr. Wagner they were also aware of this ancient skull but now when it was right in front of them they couldn't remember a thing about it. Whose skull was it? And what was this information that was hidden inside the skull? They found out everything...
Dr. Wagner's colleagues were staring at this skull in awe as if it was some kind of magic which was lost in time. Dr. Wagner told them about the email and the family and the pub where it was found, but there were no answers still that could tell anything about the skull. Everybody was waiting eagerly to start the work and solve this mystery of the skull for once and all. They had to start from zero.
Dr. Wagner proposed an idea to his colleagues. He asked them to think like a student rather than a scholar who has spent half of his life reading about the history of the world and what not. A student has a very curious mind which gives them the leverage to think out of the box. It was their luck which brought them together with this skull and because of this artifact they again got a chance to be a student for a while. Things were just getting interesting.
Before they proceeded with the investigation they divided the team into two parts. Team A was given a job to gather any sort of information about this skull from the past and find out to whom it actually belonged to. Team B was given the work to use the advanced technology to find out its age and any details which are not visible to a human eye. Both the team had a job to do and in no time they were able to collect information about the skull that answered their every single question they had on mind.
Team A was given the responsibility of gathering the information about the skull's history which was very much needed as there was no detail about it anywhere. But still, the team was trying their best to find out anything about it. So, what is the best way to find out information about something which is related to the past? The team went to the local library to look for old newspaper's. But it wasn't an easy task to do as they had no specific year to start with.
Team B studied the skull in the lab and made sure that they collect every single detail about the artifact. Even this task wasn't easy as the skull was really old which made the process very slow. Still, the team tried their best to study the skull and gather information as they could. The team was baffled with the information that was hidden in the skull which left everybody stunned. Who could have thought that this skull was carrying such an amazing message within it? What was the message?
The skull was first discovered in 1963 which made lots of noise in the local paper. The new owners of the pub were even photographed with the prize, standing proudly in front of the world holding the priceless artifact. However, the children weren't happy about it as they thought that it was useless and disgusting to keep it within the family. Little did they now that this disgusting piece of history would change their life forever in the near future.
So what was this hidden information that they were able to find out in the skull? This skull wasn't any ordinary skull. It was a well-documented and valuable part of the history which was holding a 'document' in one of its eyes. Whosoever hid it, made sure it stayed hidden for a very long time. Surprisingly, the document was just 170 words. So, what was written on that note?
It was that particular note that caught Dr. Wagner's interest and mostly because of the fact that this note was related to the academic field he has spent studying and teaching. He couldn't wait for any longer and he decided to read the letter which showed some more light on the history of the world.
The text on the note read, “Skull of Havildar ‘Alum Bheg,’ 46th Regt. Bengal N. Infantry, who was blown away from a gun, amongst several others of his Regt. He was a principal leader in the mutiny of 1857 & of a most ruffian disposition.” It meant that there was more to this story and Dr. Wagner was ready to dive into the past which brought out so many new information about the period of 1857.
According to Dr. Wagner, the opening line of the note was a direct connection to the mutiny of 1857 that took place between the Indian soldiers and the British Rulers in India. This revolution is a well-documented part of the history in both India and England. But Dr. Wagner needed to verify the document before he could say anything for sure.
Though the note seemed sort of true and original, it was the skull that had to verify so that Dr. Wagner could tell about the connection between the skull and the note. It would be such a waste if there wouldn't be any connection of any sort between the skull and the note. But why will anybody keep such a precious piece of history inside a skull? And why only inside a skull?
“The first thing I had to do was to confirm that the skull itself matched the story. If, for instance, it turned out to be that of a 90-year-old woman, then that would have been the end of it…” said, Dr. Wagner. As we already told you that the skull was under observation and there were many experienced eyes on it which were trying their best to find something about the skull and luckily, they did.
After the family happily gave the skull to Dr. Wagner, he brought it to the Natural Museum of History in London. He knew that the museum would be able to detect the age of the skull with the help of carbon dating technology and with thorough examination the team would be able to confirm the story of the skull and to whom it actually belonged to.
It was Dr. Heather Bonney who helped Dr. Wagner in this investigation where they confirmed that this skull belonged to a mid-19th-century male who must have been in his 30s. They also found out that the person was an Asian descent. However, there were no signs of any violence that could tell that this person died a violent death.
Dr. Wagner now had every information he was searching for about the skull. It was proven that the person to whom this skull once belonged to didn't die a violent death. So, he must have died during the battle which took place between the Indian soldier and the British army. But, who wrote the note and why it was hidden inside the skull?
The Indian Mutiny of 1857, is also known as the “First War of Independence.” This battle nearly shook the East India Company and it was an early blow to all the struggle and oppression people suffered under British Rule. Unfortunately, the Indian soldiers were no match to the British Army and they lost the battle yet, this battle was written in golden words in the book of history.
According to Dr. Wagner, the mutiny was one of the biggest events that took place in the heart of India that changed everything about the future of India and England. England ruled India through British East India Company. They ruled India with over 300,000 Indian troops known as sepoys who controlled India. And one day the Indian troops decided to act against the Britishers and the uprising started in May 1857 and ended in June 1858.
According to history, the revolt which started because the sepoys weren't happy under the rule of British spread all over India which later involved the general population in it. Everybody was ready to fight for their country's freedom. Back then, there were over 50,000 British troops spread all over India. Including the mutiny, there were several other major battles and other smaller massacres.
Unfortunately, the Indians troops were no match to the British army which resulted in the defeat of Indians. It was Sir Colin Campbell who led the British Army. It was him who later made Baron Clyde, where the skull of Alum Bheg was found and inside which the document about the history of the world was discovered.
According to Wagner, Alum Bheg was a revolutionary soldier and the note which was found inside the skull told the story of this man and how he killed Dr. Graeme and a Reverend Hunter, along with their whole family which included their wives and daughters. In the note, Alum Begh is described as a person of 5 feet and 7 inches tall, and who was around 32-years-old when he died. He was executed and it was Captain Costello who attended the execution of Alum Begh and brought the skull to England.
So, now we know what was it all about and how the skull turned up in a bar and what was that note about.