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THE MITCHELL-HEDGES CRYSTAL SKULL MYSTERY THE MITCHELL-HEDGES CRYSTAL SKULL MYSTERY The account of the finding of the world-famous crystal skull in the Mayan city of Lubaantun was a cover story to hide the truth about how explorer Mike Mitchell-Hedges actually acquired it. ost major finds have a known date of discovery. In the case of the Mitchell- Hedges crystal skull, that is not so, although new information has now come to light. The skull's first owner, the English adventurer Frederick A. "Mike" Mitchell-Hedges, writes in his autobiography: "How it came into my possession I have reason for not revealing"—and he never did. Mike's secrecy was not shared by his adopted daughter, Anna, who inherited the skull from her father upon his death in 1959. She would state that it was she who found it, in the Mayan city of Lubaantun (in British Honduras/Belize), on the occasion of her 17th birthday (1 January 1924). If true, it begs the question as to why her father was so reluctant to reveal this rather mundane and innocent discovery. The "Lubaantun version" has become the most accepted and widely quoted story. The place of its alleged discovery, Lubaantun, is not the most famous of Mayan ruins, if only because it is off the common tourist route. Its name means "place of the fallen stones" and its location was first reported to the British colonial authority at the end of the 19th century. In 1903, the governor of British Honduras instructed Dr Thomas Gann to survey the site. Gann's conclusion was that Lubaantun had been a major site within the Mayan empire. The next series of excavations occurred in 1915, led by Harvard University professor R. Merwin. He uncovered three memorial stones, showing men playing the ballgame, and also uncovered the court in which the ballgame was played. Gann returned for a new round of excavations in 1924, accompanied by F. A. Mitchell- Hedges, his daughter Anna and Lady Richmond Brown, his companion and financier. The account goes that despite two previous series of excavations, Anna was nevertheless able to find the top part of the crystal skull in what seemed to be an altar. Three months later, the jawbone was discovered nearby. Despite Anna Mitchell-Hedges's repeatedly telling this story (often with minor but nevertheless important variations), several researchers could not believe her version. Hence, some argue that Mike Mitchell-Hedges discovered the skull some time before and had hidden it for Anna to find on her 17th birthday. Other accounts argue that Anna did not find the skull at all, while another account relates that the local population became close to hysterical when the skull was shown to them. Alice Bryant and Phyllis Galde in The Message of the Crystal Skull (1989) report that the local Mayan people began to dance while others worshipped the skull as a relic. In no time, an altar was erected on which the skull was placed. Allegedly—once again—the local workforce stopped all further excavations for a period of three days for feasting. Apparently, the locals' veneration of the skull left Mike Mitchell-Hedges confused, not knowing how to behave and what to do. It seems that he even offered the skull as a present to the local people, provided they returned to their excavation work—which suggests that he did not think too highly of the monetary value of the skull, or that he placed the welfare of the expedition and the local people above any financial gain. Allegedly, the workmen agreed and returned the following day. If this account is correct, then not only was Mike Mitchell-Hedges silent about this discovery: all the other people on the expedition remained equally silent, including Dr Thomas Gann. Upon his return, Gann left a detailed account of his travels. This publication is intriguing, if only because none of the photographs shows Anna, which some have suggested means she was not even in Lubaantun as claimed. For sure, by Philip Coppens © 2008 PO Box 13722 North Berwick EH39 4WB United Kingdom Email: info@philipcoppens.com Website: http://www. philipcoppens.com PO Box 13722 North Berwick EH39 4WB United Kingdom Email: info@philipcoppens.com Website: http://www. philipcoppens.com JUNE — JULY 2008 NEXUS = 55 The official story of the discovery by Philip Coppens © 2008 www.nexusmagazine.com