A very valuable skull found in a diner

 On an ordinary Sunday morning, a very strange email was sent to a Danish lecturer about a mysterious skull found in a southern English pub. Intrigued by the mail, the scholar decided to follow up, determined to get the full story of the mysterious skull.

The lecturer in question is Dr. Kim Wagner, a senior lecturer at the Queen Mary University of London. The email he received only revealed that there was something odd hidden inside the skull, no further information was revealed except the location of the pub.  Dr. Wagner loved British imperial history and he was more than happy to go on this new adventure. He knew that this could all turn out to be some kind of prank but still, he was willing to take that risk and embark on a mystery-solving journey.

The family who discovered this skull in the pub’s backroom under a big stack of junk were shocked by their discovery and couldn’t figure out what to do with the skull. 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 hold it and obtain more clues about its existence in the pub.

Dr. Wagner called  the family and told them about the email he received, to ensure that indeed they were the senders, and not just another prank email. The family was surprised to hear it from Dr. Wagner in such a short time. After confirming that they were the actual senders, he asked them for a meeting arrangement where they could disclose more information and proceed with investigation.

The meeting was arranged for the next day. Dr. Wagner couldn’t control his excitement when he finally saw the skull, his hands were shaking as he held it. The urge to find out more about its story became even stronger.

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 skull was now placed on a cloth under better lighting and proper instruments. 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 a 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.

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. 

Before they proceeded with the investigation they divided themselves into two teams. One team was given the task to gather any information there was about this skull from the past and find out to whom it actually belonged to. The other team was supposed to conduct the required exams and tests to extract information on its age, cause of death and so on. 

The team who was doing the lab work studied the skull in the lab and made sure that they collected every single detail about the artifact. The team was baffled with the information that was hidden in the skull.

The skull was first discovered in 1963 and made a lot of buzz at the time. 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. 

 This skull wasn’t any ordinary skull. One of the eyes was holding a carefully folded piece of paper. Whoever hid it, made sure it stayed hidden for a very long time. 

It was that particular note that caught Dr. Wagner’s interest, he couldn’t wait  any longer and decided to read the letter, hoping it would offer him more information as to the history of the skull.

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.” 

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. 

“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. 

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 determine the age of the skull with the help of carbon dating technology, only then would his team find out the exact age 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, no signs of violent death.

Dr. Wagner now had every information he needed to have 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 was it hidden inside the skull?

The Indian Mutiny of 1857, also known as the “First War of Independence.”, nearly shook the East India Company and it was an early blow to all the struggle and oppression people suffered under British Rule. According to Dr. Wagner, the mutiny was one of the biggest events that took place in the heart of India. England ruled India through the British East India Company. They ruled India with over 300,000 Indian troops known as sepoys who controlled India, until the day came where the Indian troops decided to act against the British.

According to history, the revolt which started because the sepoys weren’t happy under the rule of the British spread all over India. Everybody was ready to fight for their country’s freedom. Over 50,000 British troops were spread all over India. The Indians troops were no match to the British army which resulted in the defeat of Indians, under the leadership of Sir Colin Camby.

Unfortunately, t

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. 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, his skull was later brought to England by Captain Costello who attended his execution.