Mystery Of Malta’s Elongated Skulls Could Soon Be Solved
A Maltese mystery dating back to 1902 and involving the remains of some 7,000 people, could soon be solved by two researchers who are drawing up a paper to “finally give a true rendition of the facts”.
More than 100 years ago, the remains of some 7,000 people were discovered in the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. While most of the remains were too fragile to move and disintegrated as soon as they were touched, 11 skulls were recovered. According to various accounts – including the original account of Temi Zammit – the skulls were elongated, indicating some primitive beings, or as some conspiracy theorists believe, a form of alien life.
A recent video uploaded to YouTube earlier this month and already viewed by more than 35,000 people, claimed that the abnormalities in the skulls led museum specialists to conclude that these skulls were “not human”.
“The abnormalities included, but are not limited too, the lack of a fossa, a lack of cranial knitting lines, abnormally developed temporal partitions, apparent drill holes and swollen occiputs, as if struggling with pressures,” claims the video, on the channel Mystery History.
Entitled The Missing Alien Bodies Of Malta – A Cover Up?, the clip also claims that the skulls were subsequently stolen and vanished without a trace. Until 1985, the skulls were on display at the National Museum of Archaeology (Heritage Malta), which is responsible for them.
But a spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture has downplayed the mystery, telling Lovin Malta that the skulls are not even elongated and are frequently made available to researchers.
“Yes a lot of requests have been made in the past 10 years. Most people request to look at them. Since they are not on display, Heritage Malta gets them out of storage and officials from the Agency accompany the visitors during the whole stage. As a rule, permissions are only granted to researchers,” the ministry spokesperson said.
“Once (researchers) realise that the skulls are not, in fact, elongated, most people subsequently drop their request.”
“When people make a request, the senior curator in charge of the museum usually sends images of the bones. Once they realise that, contrary to what they might have been told that the skulls are not, in fact, elongated, most people subsequently drop their request,” the spokesperson said.
But it seems a study currently being carried out by a bone expert and a curator could provide some answers to the strange mystery.
“There is currently a joint research going on (by an osteologist and a curator) and the end result will be a paper to explain the sizes and the shapes of these skulls in order to finally give a true rendition of the facts vis-a-vis the long-headed skulls theory,” the ministry spokesperson told Lovin Malta.
We’ll keep you updated.
Had you ever heard of Malta’s long-headed skulls? Tag a geeky friend who you know would be interested.
READ NEXT: QUIZ: How Well Do You Know Maltese History?
