When Paramount released the title of the fourth instalment of the Indiana Jones series, it was clear that the object of desire was going to be a crystal skull. When they released their press kit, it included a photograph of the crystal skull – clearly alien in nature. From the press kit, it also appeared that the legendary city of Akakor would play a role in this story – it’s name changed to Akator. The kit contained a photograph of the so-called “Akakor Chamber” – a reference to Karl Brugger’s The Chronicle of Akakor book, which inspired the likes of Erich von Däniken to go in search of subterranean networks – including the infamous “Gold Library”.
In pre-release interviews, Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg commented that they had initially dismissed George Lucas’ idea to base the new Indiana Jones movie around a mythical crystal skull. The actor, along with director Spielberg, were looking for ideas for a fourth movie featuring the legendary character, and turned down several script possibilities, including one that saw the Dr. Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones Jr. hunting for the Lost City of Atlantis.
When producer Lucas suggested a script focusing on the crystal skull - a quartz cranium believed to hold supernatural powers - both his colleagues laughed off the idea. Ford admitted it became a struggle between the three men as they resisted Lucas’ idea - but they eventually gave in, conceding that the Star Wars filmmaker was “always right”.

The premiere of the movie was at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, with a worldwide theatre release on May 22. “Crystal Skull” begins in 1957 Nevada, with Indy and his partner Mac (Ray Winstone) trying to escape from the Soviets who have kidnapped them. Blanchett’s fearsome Irina Spalko wants them to locate the crystal skull within Area 51 for some kind of nefarious mind-control plan involving alien intelligence (a long-standing Spielberg subject). A former colleague of Indy’s, Professor Harold Oxley (John Hurt), also was after the skull – and went missing in pursuit of it. LaBeouf’s young tough Mutt Williams tracks Indy down and pleads with him to help find their mutual friend, which sends the two on a quest to determine the purpose behind the mystical artefact and keep it out of the wrong hands.

In the earlier Indiana Jones films, the objects of antiquity that seemed to drive the story acted more or less purely as MacGuffins: plot devices that advanced the action, but whose explicit usefulness and others details were not of paramount importance. Audiences never needed to know exactly how the Sankara Stones worked or what they actually did in “The Temple of Doom,” nor exactly how the Arc would be put to use by the Nazis in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” We knew the parties involved were evil, and that the artefacts were powerful, and that was reason enough to stop them. Even though Hitler believed in the mystical power of such ancient artefacts, it was never about that power for Indy, the consummate archaeologist. In “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” the nature of the artefacts is anything but understated.

Since The Da Vinci Code and the media-dumbing down, movies and books come with danger. Hence, members of Russia’s dwindling Communist Party called for a nationwide boycott of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, objecting to the depiction of Soviet troops invading top-secret American installations, killing guards and wreaking havoc. The Communists claimed that no Soviet terrorists were ever sent to the US in 1957. Instead, they said, the government successfully launched the first Sputnik satellite, “which evoked the admiration of the whole world.”
The film has two references to the name Mitchell-Hedges and his crystal skull. The only other skull mentioned is in the British Museum. And though the object of desire is not the Mitchell-Hedges skull, the crystal skull of the film is nevertheless equally carved against the grain, like the Mitchell-Hedges skull.
There is a further, somewhat obscure, reference to Mitchell-Hedges. At one point, Indiana Jones relates that he was once captured by Pancho Villa. It cannot be a coincidence that Mitchell-Hedges was captured by Pancho Villa too – suggesting that portions of Indiana Jones’ profile are indeed taken from the life and times of Mitchell-Hedges. Both are definitely larger than life characters.
Other topics in the movie address the Remote Viewing projects initiated by the US and Soviet governments, the alien theme, especially Roswell and Area 51, the Nazca geoglyphs, and the legend of Akakor, with a tiny addition of the El Dorado and Col. Fawcett stories.
However, of great interest is that the plot of the movie revolves around not so much bringing 13 crystal skulls together, but bringing back the 13th skull back to the place from where it was taken from, so that this “return” can set a sequence of events in motion.

It is Indiana Jones, but you would think it is Don Quichote. Like The Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull got a lot of mainstream media attention, with specifically the magazines and newspapers decided to launch a crusade against crystal skulls.
Archaeology published a particularly bad article (no doubt because it had to be rushed into print) by Jane Walsh of the Smithsonian. Specifically, Jane Walsh called Mitchell-Hedges a “yarn-spinner extraordinaire” – not the most scientific of wording, and an allegation that is not supported by any examples or details.
Despite the officialdom of archaeology claiming all skulls are fake, the Paris and British Museum skulls were nevertheless pushed forward as museum flagships, hoping they would bring extra visitors.

On April 18, 2008, the Quai Branly museum felt it had to release a press statement that the skull was “probably” made in the 19th century. In the statement, the museum said that results of an analysis of its skull in 2007-2008 by the country’s C2RMF research and restoration centre “seem to indicate that it was made late in the 19th century.” Note the word “seem”.
Another article, on the British Museum skull, read: “The London skull was examined twice, in 1996 and 2004, and both studies tended to prove it was a fake, though the final conclusions have not been made public.” What are we to make of statements like “tended to prove”? There is either proof, or there isn’t. Everything else is evidence, and up for interpretation.
All of the articles sang from the same hymn-sheet: how evidence of wheels “proved” they are not pre-Columbian; the Boban connection; the speculation about possible German origins. All of this “evidence” has been countered in the rebuttal article and the “German connection” is so unsubstantiated that even the newspaper and magazine articles used words like “may”, “probably” or “could” – but there is no evidence for it. It is purely a theory by Jane Walsh, unsupported by any evidence.

The various stories that have been published highlight how badly one-sided the debate has become, but this is typical of the mainstream media’s approach to “news” in general. And what are we to make of the “Skull of Doom” – also known as the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull – being labelled the “skull of destiny”?
AFP even decided it would invent its own variation of the “gathering of the skulls” legend, highlighting it either got that from a new age webpage, or just invented it altogether. Note no-one is quoted: “Each skull was supposed to correspond to 12 worlds in which human life was present. They were brought by the Itza, the ancient people of Atlantis, to their civilisation in order to pass on their knowledge to man. The 13th world, the land, also had its own crystal skull, and all 13 skulls were kept in a great pyramid by the Olmecs, the Mayas and ultimately the Aztecs. The Aztecs are said to have been responsible for the dispersal and loss of the skulls, which when brought together possessed great powers, including being lined up on the last day of the Maya calendar - December 21, 2012 - to prevent the earth from tipping over.” And one wonders why no-one is buying newspapers anymore!

This “crystal skulls war” has brought about another divide, which only few journalists seem to have noticed: that between archaeologists and their claims/interpretations, and that of anthropology/living traditions. For example: archaeologists stick around Jane Walsh, who almost single-handedly leads the archaeologists’ assault, claiming that all crystal skulls are 19th century fabrications. Yet it is clear that Mayans in Middle America have a living tradition about a gathering of the skulls. Indeed, social beliefs change over time, but the Guatemalan shamans were uttering these beliefs before the crystal skulls achieved any notoriety whatsoever, suggesting their opinions were genuinely their own – which implies also that archaeologists have it dead wrong.
For example, in the jungles of southern Mexico, the Lacandon, the last unassimilated Mayas, still have communities that worship crystal skulls. In the shadow of the Palenque ruins, Lacandon priest K’in Garcia fans copal incense and holds a heavy crystal skull above his head during ceremonies for Hacha’kyum, the Mayan god of creation. Garcia, the son of the Lancandon’s most respected elder, Chan Kin, believes the skull has special powers, including the ability to stave off sickness and deforestation in the rain forest where the last Lacandon still live. “When I am alone at night, at about 2 a.m., it starts to glow, it emits light, and it stays like that for about a minute,” says Garcia, underlining that in his eyes, the skull has otherworldy, if not supernatural, connotations.

As we head towards 2012, there is one clear new development, which is that the Mayans, after centuries of oppression, are now becoming ever stronger, ever more socially sure about their self-identity, and their desire to have social respect. A most remarkable change for the better occurred on April 23, 2008, when a television station that once was the voice of the Guatemalan military dictatorship that had massacred thousands of Mayans, showed the glyph of the day from the millennial Mayan calendar and announced itself as ”TV Maya: Guatemala’s multi-cultural station.”
The station, funded by the Guatemalan Academy of Mayan Languages (ALMG), broadcasts for 30 minutes, three times a day, showing programs that teach Mayan culture, worldview and language. Its programs are broadcast in indigenous languages with Spanish subtitles.
The station will be of particular importance in healing the wounds of the past and creating unity in Guatemala, a country that is sixty percent indigenous, with 22 different linguistic groups of Maya, as well as Garifuna and Xinca. It continues the country’s commitment to peace accords made in 1996, after the Guatemalan military adopted a ‘’scorched earth” policy in its efforts to fight leftist guerillas. That policy left more than 200,000 people dead, most of them rural Mayans. It is a massacre that has, as is usual for Central and Southern America, hardly received any attention from the international media – not even from those who claim to help Mayan knowledge enter the West.

With the rise of the Maya, there might be an interest clash on the horizon, once they have the self-assurance to “pick a fight” with the archaeologists who, from their ivory towers in “Colonial Headquarters” seem to continue to dictate what the truth should be – rather than could be, or is.

Philip Coppens is a journalist and researcher. He has been writing on the crystal skulls since 1995. His website is www.philipcoppens.com.

In the third season of the science fiction series Stargate SG-1, script writer Brad Wright wrote episode 65, which aired for the first time on March 3, 2000. Its title: Crystal Skull.
In the parlance of the series, a “Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe” or MALP is sent to planet P7X-377 through the stargate, an alien device that allows for instantaneous travel to remote galaxies. On this planet, the probe discovers a pyramid over 1000 metres high, and moves inside, to be confronted with a crystal skull.
After qualifying the pyramid as Mayan, the Stargate project’s resident archaeologist Daniel Jackson relates that his grandfather discovered a similar skull in Belize. “I could name at least a dozen different crystal skulls from various parts of the world but the skull that Nick discovered in Belize was unique.” Jackson goes on to note that “no one can explain how the skull Nick discovered was carved, from a single piece of crystal, against the grain, given the technology of the day. He claimed that it possessed a certain power.”
The description is therefore very close to descriptions of the Mitchell-Hedges skull, which is equally made out of a single piece of crystal, and is cut against the grain.

Very much in the same style as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a series like Stargate SG-1 would have to make references to aliens – as that is the premise upon which the entire series is based. Hence, the “certain power” is interpreted as “if one were to look into the eyes of the skull, one would be teleported to see aliens” and notes that his grandfather tried to convince the academic community of this, which – of course – did not go down well – shaming the family name.

When Jackson and the reconnaissance team – SG-1 – go to the planet and enter the pyramid, Jackson looks into the eyes of the skull, as his grandfather did, and an energy field envelops him. Taken by surprise, his team mate Teal’c fires his weapon at the skull, but Jackson has already disappeared. At the same time, team member Carter collapses from the high levels of radiation that are present inside the pyramid and the team minus Daniel return to back to Earth and their base, the SGC.
Teal’c then returns to search for Daniel, but does not find him, and collects the crystal skull. Jackson meanwhile realises that he has become invisible to his team members, Teal’c walking through him. As science fiction scripts go, he is nevertheless able to return with Teal’c through the stargate to Earth.

There, base scientist Robert Rothman studies the skull, but is unable to find anything helpful. The rest of the team, O’Neill, Carter and Teal’c, therefore locate Nick Ballard and go to meet him. Alas, the ridicule that the scientific community bestowed upon him has made him end up in a mental institution.
Ballard is nevertheless clear, and states that his obsession with the skull came about because not only had he seen aliens when looking in the skull’s eyes, he was actually transported by the skull to a gigantic cavern, where he met “giant aliens”. “They rose up as if they were made of mist; they flew around me like spectres.” The being told him the following phrase in Mayan: Oo ya wolin wolin we tayil. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
“I was afraid to answer, I just closed my eyes and suddenly I found myself back again under the temple in Belize. The ground was shaking as in an earthquake and I just grabbed the skull and climbed out and everything collapsed.” He then spent several trips trying to rediscover the location of the temple, without success. For several years, Ballard also tried to make the skull teleport him again under controlled conditions, but always without success.

Ballard returns with the team to their base, in Cheyenne Mountain, where he is shown the skull, without being told where it was found. While there, Ballard adds that he has been able to see and hear Jackson, likely because they both shared a similar experience, explaining that Jackson is likely “out of phase” with everyone else.
The working hypothesis – proposed by Jackson – is that the team need to return to the planet, as the weapon discharge likely interrupted the skull’s teleportation effort, resulting in Jackson’s out of phase-status.
Once back on the planet, replacing the skull on its pedestal, all are enveloped by energy swirls and are indeed teleported – all except Teal’c, because he carries a Goa’uld larva inside him, which seems to stop him from undergoing the vision/teleportation.
The giant alien that Ballard encountered appears to them: an imposing, ethereal being named Quetzalcoatl, a direct reference to the Mayan supreme deity. He repeats that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” He invites Ballard to stay, who agrees, to exchange knowledge and culture. It appears that Ballard’s 1971 Belize experience transported him to the alien planet the team went to, suggesting that apart from stargates, crystal skulls equally had the ability to teleport at least the mind. In fact, the return voyage to the giant pyramid is engineered simply by Quetzalcoatl inviting the team to once again look into the eyes of the skull.

Several other aspects of the episode make it clear that the screenwriters were very familiar with the literature on crystal skulls. Of all places, the “Ballard skull” is held in the Smithsonian, while Rothman in his initial study of the skull states “the craftsmanship is very impressive. It’s probably made in Germany, early 1900’s.” It is clearly a joke aimed towards the sceptics, for Rothman has not been told the skull is actually from a different planet, and thus bases his conclusion on the “official literature” on the skull, which argues that skulls like the Mitchell-Hedges skull are “likely” made in Germany in the late 19th century. Rothman, Jackson’s aide, is tasked with figuring out the skull and is told to not look into the skull’s eyes, as this is how Jackson vanished.
Of course, Rothman does, and notes nothing happens, whereupon Carter notes Jackson’s disappearance was accompanied by severe levels of radiation – not present in the lab where Rothman is studying the artefact. Rothman, however, remains unconvinced and believes that the skull was unable to transport Jackson, noting “I think what we’ve got here is a paperweight. I’m sorry, that’s my opinion.”
Carter thus takes over, noting that “there may be properties in the crystalline structure that are invisible to the naked eye. We should run some diagnostic tests.” None of these, however, show anything special, whereupon they require the assistance of Ballard, who alone is able to explain the “power” of this crystal to SG-1 and its team of scientists. In short, the storyline implies, we are confronted with alien science, and what is required, is a different approach to such technology.

Stargate SG-1 ran for a decade and hence there was ample time to return to this plot and have SG-1 return to the alien world, to catch up with Ballard and learn some of the alien knowledge he had received. However, the series never returned to the theme of the crystal skull, and the episode thus remains a standalone story.

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F.A. “Mike” Mitchell-Hedges (22 October 1882 - June 1959) was an English adventurer, traveller, and writer – for many, he is the real Indiana Jones, if not a James Bond as well.

Mitchell-Hedges spent some years alternating between Central America, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some sources say he was a mercenary, others that he was a British government spy, and others that he was independently wealthy and travelling for diversion.

The Crystal Skull

Today, Mitchell-Hedges is best known for his connection to a famous crystal skull: “The Skull of Doom”. Arthur C Clarke made the skull into his signature logo for his popular television series, Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World, and of course, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where Mitchell-Hedges receives two mentions.
Mitchell-Hedges mentioned the skull in the first edition of his autobiography, Danger My Ally (1954), without specifying where or by whom it was found. He merely stated that “it is at least 3,600 years old and according to legend was used by the High Priest of the Maya when performing esoteric rites. It is said that when he willed death with the help of the skull, death invariably followed”. Later editions of Danger My Ally omitted this rather intriguing paragraph.

In an affidavit, Anna Hedges, his adopted daughter, claimed that she found the skull buried under a collapsed altar inside a temple in Lubaantun, in British Honduras, now Belize. Others believe Mitchell-Hedges bought the skull from an antiques dealer in New York or that the skull was purchased at auction in 1943. Others argue that Mitchell-Hedges could never tell how he acquired the skull, as no-one would believe him. Could truth be stranger than fiction?

The Perfect Artefact

The skull is made from a block of clear quartz (although the jaw detaches), 5 inches (13 cm) high, 7 inches (18 cm) long and 5 inches wide. It is about the size of a small human cranium, with near perfect detail.

In 1970, art restorer Frank Dorland was given permission to submit the skull to tests at the internal Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. According to Dorland, the skull had been carved with total disregard to the natural crystal axis and no metal tools were used. Dorland claimed he was unable to find any tell-tale scratch marks, except for traces of mechanical grinding on the teeth. From tiny patterns near the carved surfaces, Dorland determined it was first chiselled into rough form, probably using diamonds. The finer shaping, grinding and polishing, Frederick claimed, was done with sand over a period of 150 to 300 years.

A Great Enigma

The debate whether the skull is pre- or post-Columbian continues to rage and divide opinions. As the skull is made from quartz, no carbon or any other dating techniques can be performed on it. Though some argue evidence of wheels shows it is post-Columbian, other experts argue that is not at all the case.

The enigma, and controversy continues…

Cris Winter and Jim Honey in The Aqua Corner

Cris Winter and Jim Honey are Philip Coppens’ guests on The Aqua Corner, where they are interviewed on the origins and intrigue of the Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull. Both are convinced that Mitchell-Hedges incorporated details of how he truly found the skull in his novel “The White Tiger”. In the novel, an English ex-pat, who has been thanked by local Indians by making him their chief, is shown a secret treasure, which includes “crystal heads”. The book was published in 1931, more than a decade before Mitchell-Hedges went public with the skull.
Winter and Honey also provide further background to the recent five/Smithsonian Channel programme, as well as presenting a list of original documentation that proves that Mitchell-Hedges was held in the highest of regards by contemporary archaeologists and museum directors.

Bad Archaeology says we can’t be faulted

The Bad archaeology website has this to say about our website: “The skull and its famous owner have a very smart web site dedicated to them. Whatever the claims of myth and legend associated with it you can’t fault the range of information and pictures contained within.” We appreciate those comments. We also congratulate the website on giving one of the most balanced and almost error-free reporting on the skull. As usual, when it comes to the life of Mitchell-Hedges himself, it is clear that several writers are on less solid ground, and tend to go for hype or easy conclusions, but even there, the discussion is much fairer and error-free than most other reporting we’ve seen in recent months.

The Washington Post mention…

On July 10, 2008, the Washington Post referenced our website in its article on the Smithsonian Channel documentary and the exhibition of their own crystal skull. It stated: “The most-storied crystal skull, and the one referenced in the Indiana Jones movie, is the Mitchell-Hedges skull, which is in private hands. F.A. Mitchell-Hedges - a sort of real-life Indiana Jones, except English and a master of tall tales - and his adopted daughter Anna said they found the skull in the ancient Mayan city Lubaantun.
The skull is known alternately as the Skull of Doom and the Skull of Love, and was said by Mitchell-Hedges to be more than 3,600 years old and the embodiment of evil.
Anna, who died last year, said she basically climbed into a hole in the ground and found it sitting among some rocks. (”I saw something shiny,” she reportedly said. Simple as that.) Actually, Walsh said, the elder Mitchell-Hedges bought the skull at a Sotheby’s auction in 1943 from Sidney Burney, an art dealer. No one knows where Burney got it from - but in any case, it’s probably not Mayan.
Believers in the crystal skull do not lack for conviction, however. The Mitchell-Hedges official Web site ( http://mitchell-hedges.com) proffers rebuttals to all the scientific points made in “Legend of the Crystal Skulls,” stopping short of calling the documentary a work of fiction.”

Apart from the inaccurate reference that F.A. Mitchell-Hedges claimed he found the skull in Lubaantun – it was Anna who stated that – we again would like to underline that this site has never made any secret of the fact that Mitchell-Hedges bought it at auction – and our site is also the only one showing the evidence! At the very least, we would like to thank Laura Yao for making some effort to depict both sides of the debate.

Crystal Skull, film star?

Being at the Cannes Film Festival and Monte Carlo was an unbelievable experience. Being on a super yacht there, pushed it over the top.
We arrived in Cannes and the town was filled with people from all over the world. There were many outdoor restaurants on every side street and corner. It felt as if one big party was happening… and I guess it was. We drove into town, working our way through the small and very crowded streets, back and forth, finely finding the dock. At the dock a small boat was waiting for us, and we pilled all our luggage in, heading out to sea. Our yacht was a good 20 minute trip, and as we got closer, we could see the ships kept getting bigger and bigger. The O’Mega looked like a small ocean liner, 300 feet, awesome, really nice. I think I can call this home. The adventure was starting.
The two closest ships moored to us were owned by Brad Pitt, and the other side was Steven Spielberg. So I had to say that were my new neighbours. I thought that this was going to be a great trip.

After two days there, during which many new people came to see the Skull, we headed to Monte Carlo and the Grand Prix. In Monte Carlo we were able to dock the ship. One leg of the Grand Prix went right next to the harbour, so one could sit out on the deck, and have the race pass right in front. Hearing, and having the cars speed by at over 150 mph, is something I will always remember. Being docked we were also able to walk and explore the town. The beauty and history were unforgettable. The Skull was again very busy. I was able to work with small groups, three to six at a time, wanting to see and experience the energy of the Skull.
If I was asked what stood out from such an unbelievable experience, I would have to say the people. They were all so different, interesting, a real pleasure, and honour to meet. I truly enjoyed a really great adventure.

Mitchell-Hedges and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls

The latest issue of NEXUS Magazine carries an article by Philip Coppens on the circumstances in which the Mitchell-Hedges skull was potentially discovered. It argues that Mitchell-Hedges was able to lay his hands on this skull in 1913-1914, and that there is evidence, in his novel “The White Tiger” – published in 1931 – that the skull was in his possession many decades before he “officially” purchased it – making him the legal owner, with no questions asked – in 1943.
It is a remarkable coincidence how this article corresponds with part of the plotline of the new Indiana Jones movie. Note how in the movie, Indiana Jones explains how he once rode – “well, technically I was kidnapped” – with Pancho Villa. It is then learned that Harry Oxley and Indiana Jones have been obsessed with the skull – in the movie, actually the Mitchell-Hedges skull – since university, and the plot of the film is actually around Indy trying to find out where Oxley has disappeared to – which leads them to the kingdom of the crystal skull. Well, make this the story of Mitchell-Hedges – who rode – i.e. was kidnapped – by Pancho Villa and Ambrose Bierce, who disappeared somewhere in Mexico… and you might have the true story of how the Mitchell-Hedges skull was discovered. Or how art…?
Want to know more? NEXUS Magazine says it all – or at least opens the way that will lead to the truth.

Fortean Times unlocks the Mystery of the Crystal Skulls

The English magazine Fortean Times sent Gordon Rutter – which they claim is the nearest thing they could find to Indiana Jones – in search of the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the truth behind one of the 20th century’s most popular and enduring mysteries. Fortean Times and NEXUS are the two leading alternative newsstand magazines in the United Kingdom, which means that at the present moment, the Mitchell-Hedges skull dominates the English alternative landscape. Now why would that be?

The skull on the SciFi channel

The Sci Fi Channel signalled the release of the fourth Indiana Jones movie by showing all three blockbusters back to back, followed by the premiere of the original investigative special “Mystery of the Crystal Skulls”, hosted by NBC News’ Lester Holt on Sunday, May 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

From the Sci Fi Channel’s promotional material: “The documentary explores the true history of the legendary relics, unearthing the myths, legends and controversies that surround them. Could the skulls be ancient Mayan prophecies of doom or relics from the Lost City of Atlantis? Or do they, as some believe, store the vast knowledge of a highly advanced extraterrestrial civilization. To try to answer these questions, Sci Fi has launched an unprecedented expedition into the jungles of Belize to track down the missing skulls. It’s a quest worthy of Indiana Jones himself and one that tries to unlock the knowledge about humanity’s imminent destiny.
Holt follows in the footsteps of British explorer and adventurer Frederick Mitchell-Hedges, an inspiration for the fictional Indiana Jones character, whose daughter discovered the first ancient crystal skull in the 1920s in the Mayan ruin of Lubaantun. Bill Homann, a modern-day adventurer and caretaker of the Mitchell-Hedges’ skull, joins Lester on the quest that takes them through the treacherous jungles of Belize and in the rough waters off the Honduran coast.
Together, with clues that Homann obtained from Mitchell-Hedges’ daughter and local Mayans, they go in search of another missing skull while surviving bat-ridden caves and alligator infested rivers. Along the way, they come across amazing discoveries including a hidden Mayan temple that could house more treasures.
Granted access to newly performed lab tests on several skulls, the show will examine the results to unlock these mysteries and find out how these skulls could have been made and what powers they may possess. The special, shot in HD, is produced by NBC’s Peacock Productions in association with Sci Fi.”

The Daily Mail: Mitchell-Hedges the real Indiana Jones

In his lifetime, Mitchell-Hedges had a special relationship with the British newspaper The Daily Mail. In the run-up to the new Indiana Jones movie, their April 28, 2008 edition devoted an in-depth article on whether he is the real Indiana Jones – and who he was.

The skull makes the NEXUS cover

Issue 15.3 of NEXUS magazine (April-May edition) has the article “Origin & Symbolism of the Crystal Skulls” by Philip Coppens. It was also used to provide the cover artwork. The article tackles the crystal skulls in general, arguing that they were most likely created in Central America and may have played an important role in the Mayan priests’ re-enactment of their creation myth. The author also addresses the sceptics’ pet theories that they were late 19th century creations. The Mitchell-Hedges skull features prominently in the article, but the next issue will have an exclusive article that will present a new scenario as to how the Mitchell-Hedges skull may have been discovered.