A Cryptic Opening

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.

Indian Uprising

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. 

Verification Needed

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?

Confirming The Connections


“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.

Analyzing the Skull

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.

Results Are In

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.