From MARK GREENWOOD comes a new addition to his ‘History Hunter’ series – books dedicated to exploring the weird and the bizarre stories of the past – The Crystal Skull explores relics from ancient civilizations.
Read on for an extract from the book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Legendary crystal skulls made by ancient civilisations have been a source of controversy for decades. But are they more modern than we think?
Made by no known human process, the crystal skulls have defied investigations to determine who made them, when they were made, and what tools were used.
Could they be relics from the legendary lost island of Atlantis, or are these exotic artifacts an elaborate hoax?
The truth is out there.
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EXTRACT
In 1924, Anna Mitchell-Hedges, an adventurous teenager, was travelling with her father on an expedition into the jungles of Belize. For weeks, a team of explorers pushed through dense foliage into the jungle’s dark heart. The air was steamy. In the tangle of creepers, monkeys chattered and howled. The shifting shadows played tricks on the mind. Branches crackled underfoot. Anna trod carefully over the knotted roots of strangler figs. Spiders and fire ants infested the vines. Flesh-eating botflies lurked in the mud.
Anna’s father, British explorer Frederick Mitchell-Hedges, was searching for the ruins of a lost civilisation. Local workers recounted tales of ‘star people’, advanced beings who imparted knowledge to the ancients and then mysteriously vanished. Mitchell-Hedges believed these beings hailed from Atlantis.
Could the legend of Atlantis have its origins in the truth?
For Anna and everyone involved, the expedition had been gruelling. After months hacking through the jungle, they’d stumbled upon mossy mounds of stone suffocated by gnarled vines. Mitchell-Hedges and his team spent weeks clearing the site. Slowly, an ancient Mayan city was revealed, unlike anything ever encountered. The stones were perfectly cut. Buildings were constructed without mortar, a technique not typical in Mayan architecture. The ruins marked the site of a mighty citadel that encompassed homes, shrines, palaces, an amphitheatre and a grand pyramid with walls that reminded Mitchell-Hedges of the Great Pyramids in Egypt, located halfway across the world.
Local Mayans identified these ruins as Lubaantun, ‘The City of Fallen Stones’. In the mists of antiquity, long before modern cities spanned the globe, a vibrant tapestry of life flourished in Central America. Monumental temples and grand pyramids were constructed. Elaborate calendars honoured the cyclical nature of time. Renowned for a deep connection to the cosmos, the ancient people were innovators with an advanced understanding of astronomy and mathematics. Life was in tune with the rhythms of the natural world. Buildings were aligned with the sun, moon, planets and stars. Here, a civilisation thrived until suddenly, without explanation, the site was abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle.
Anna celebrated her seventeenth birthday at Lubaantun. After long days of excavating and clearing, the team was exhausted. The afternoon sun cast shadows of golden light. The ancient ruins were strangely quiet. In the drowsy heat, everyone made themselves comfortable in the shade — except Anna.
‘Father warned me not to climb to the top of the pyramids,’ she later confessed. ‘But the locals told me on a clear day, I might see the ocean.’ While others took a well-earned siesta, Anna clambered up the stone wall, clinging to vines. At the summit, a glint of light between the rocks caught her eye. She hurried back to the base camp to rouse her father. ‘Come quickly,’ she insisted. ‘There’s a light inside the pyramid.’
‘It’s just the sun playing tricks on you.’
Anna protested. ‘I saw something shining in there.’
Her father pulled his hat back over his eyes. ‘We’ll check tomorrow.’
The following morning, Anna led her father up the side of the ruins. After clearing away some debris, he shone his torch through a gap in the stones. ‘There’s something down there for sure,’ he agreed. ‘I can see it glowing.’
The opening was too narrow for Anna’s father to squeeze through. The younger, thinner local guides refused to descend, insisting what was inside should remain undisturbed. Mitchell-Hedges dismissed their concerns as hocus-pocus. ‘Doesn’t anybody here have any courage?’
Silence followed, until a soft voice spoke up from the back. Anna stepped forward. ‘I’ll do it.’
With a light strapped to her head and ropes tied around her body, Anna was lowered into the void. ‘There are scorpions and snakes down here,’ she called out. Near what appeared to be the remains of an altar, the source of the light flashed when caught in the beam of her headlamp.
Anna inched closer. The object was transparent, like glass. Instantly, she recognised the eerie, lifelike shape of a human skull. It was the most extraordinary object. Her headlight enhanced the glow of its hollow eye sockets. Anna’s heart raced. She wiped the dust from its smooth surface and tugged on the rope. ‘Bring me up,’ she yelled.
By the time Anna emerged, a crowd had gathered. Her father held up a crystal skull, mesmerised by the way it reflected the sunlight. For a moment, there was silence among local Mayans before they erupted with joy, crying and hugging each other. An elder informed Mitchell-Hedges that the skull was thousands of years old and encoded with knowledge about the past and the future. ‘A powerful force,’ he said, ‘has been released from its tomb.’
That night, the crystal skull was blessed with drumming, chanting and singing. Later, according to Mitchell-Hedges, the ancient relic was gifted to him in gratitude for food, medicine and his care of the local Mayans.
What Anna and her father didn’t know at the time was that the crystal skull would prove to be one of the most mysterious objects ever found, and it would change their lives forever.
Listen to our podcast with Mark Greenwood on The Legend of Jessie Hickman
Read our interview with Mark Greenwood on The Vanishing
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. He enjoys searching for lost explorers and glittering treasure, delving into baffling mysteries and investigating famous cold cases. His award-winning books examining history and multicultural themes have been honoured internationally.
Mark often teams with his wife, illustrator Frané Lessac, to produce books that promote an understanding of multicultural issues, such as Drummer Boy of John John, Magic Boomerang, Outback Adventure, and Our Big Island. Their other books include Ned Kelly & The Green Sash (winner of the WA Young Readers’ Book Award and Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Notable Book), The Mayflower and Midnight: The story of a light horse (also a CBCA Notable Book). Mark’s recent books include the ‘History Mysteries’ chapter book series, Moonwalkers, The Book of Stone, The Vanishing, Lucky’s Star and Our Country: Where history happened.
Mark’s books, The Legend of Moondyne Joe and The Legend of Lasseter’s Reef won the West Australian Premier’s Award.
Visit Mark Greenwood’s website
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