In 1927, the American archaeologist Francis Mitchell - Hedges excavated the Lubaantun - "City of Falling Stones" he discovered, an ancient Mayan citadel in the jungle of what was then British Honduras. For more than a week, together with his student daughter, he dismantled the remains of a massive wall that had collapsed on the altar in one of the temples there. This hard, monotonous work was brightened up only by the thought that under the pile of stones bas-reliefs and drawings unknown to science could be hidden, which, perhaps, shed some more light on the many mysteries of the disappeared civilization.
And he did not think - Mitchell did not guess - Hedges that fate would send him a truly royal gift: instead of some fragment that, perhaps, would bring science a little closer to solving the mysteries of the Maya, the archaeologist and his daughter discovered a truly priceless treasure, which became another incredible mystery for scientists of the planet. Tired of the day, they had already collected their tools and headed for the exit, when suddenly a ray of the setting sun fell into the gloomy room. By a lucky coincidence, the sunbeam stopped on an object that suddenly sparkled in a pile of rubble and debris. Is it a ritual gold piece? Mitchell - Hedges began carefully, stone by stone, to disassemble the rubble that hid the unknown treasure. No, it was not gold, but the value of the find did not diminish from this, on the contrary, it turned out to be more expensive than tons of the precious metal. The professor held a female skull made of polished quartz. Nobody else has seen anything like this in the world. In some places, smoky spots and small balls resembling air bubbles shone through it, but there were no cracks or scratches.
In the camp, examining the find, the scientist was amazed at the accuracy with which even the smallest details of the skull were executed. It is clear that the unknown sculptor knew its structure perfectly and was able to accurately maintain the proportions. All this together gave the five-kilogram stone the impression of something alive. And gloomy, fatal. The impression was further enhanced by huge sparkling eye sockets and dazzling teeth like diamonds. Later it turned out that the skull played an important role in the Mayan rites, as mentioned in ancient legends. In the secret chambers of the temples, the high priests peered at him for hours, wishing death to their enemies. This was the reason to call the find of the American archaeologist the "Skull of Death".
However, its main, almost magical properties were fully revealed later by Frank Dorland, an art restorer who studied the skull from Lubaantun for six years. The discoveries he made are no less surprising than the find of Mitchell-Heedges itself. Firstly, as the scientist established under a microscope, the skull was originally carved from a whole quartz crystal without the use of metal tools, and then polished, most likely, with a mixture of silicon sand and quartz chips, made in the form of a paste. This, in his opinion, took no less than three hundred (!) Years. Secondly, the researcher noted the extraordinary mobility of the lower jaw, fixed in polished hinged sockets. How it was possible to do this without breaking the solidity of a piece of quartz could not be explained. Moreover, if the skull is free to hang,then even a slight breeze is enough for the jaw to start moving, thereby creating the impression of human speech.
However, the most striking thing was not even that. Millennia before the advent of fiber optics and LEDs, ancient craftsmen were able to achieve a similar optical effect using a complex system of prisms, lenses and hollow channels. Thus, a candle placed under a hanging skull makes its eye sockets shine. At a certain position, you can even achieve that thin rays of light come from them.
As a result of research, Dortland put forward a downright incredible version of the origin of the "Skull of Death". In his opinion, it was made in Ancient Egypt or Babylon and only much later transported to Central America. The Maya, on the other hand, completed its polishing and improved the prism and lens system. One can imagine what effect was created by a skull hanging in the semi-darkness over the altar with sparkling eye sockets, a moving jaw and uttering the commands of the gods. Looking at the skull, one can observe the effect that it has on impressionable people. Some have an increased heart rate, others are thirsty or smell different, and still others fall asleep quickly. The priests skillfully used this, and therefore were considered omnipotent."
We hope that sooner or later, the mystery of the mystical crystal skull will nevertheless be revealed, and humanity will finally learn what is inaccessible to its modern consciousness.