In a remote corner of India, near the border with Nepal, lies Roopkund Lake, a site that has baffled archaeologists since its discovery in 1942.
The lake, often referred to as the "Skeleton Lake" or "Lake of Bones," is littered with human remains believed to belong to at least 500 individuals, with an estimated 400 more bodies potentially buried in the vicinity, as reported by The U.S. Sun.
According to Gateway Pundit, the lake's remote location, which takes hikers approximately five days to reach, coupled with its harsh and freezing weather conditions, has led some to theorize that the bodies are the tragic remnants of a dangerous pilgrimage gone awry. However, a 2019 study published in Nature Communications has shed new light on this enigma, although it has also raised further questions.
The study involved DNA testing of the bodies, which revealed three distinct groups. Some of the bodies are believed to be ancestors of present-day South Asians, while others surprisingly trace back to the Eastern Mediterranean. The third group, represented by a single body tested in the study, likely hails from Southeast Asia.
In addition to the DNA testing, the bodies were also carbon-dated, providing a timeline for their presence at the lake. The results were startling, with many bones dating back to around 800 AD and others to approximately 1800 AD. This implies that two large groups of bodies found at the lake are separated by a staggering 1,000 years.
Harvard geneticist David Reich expressed his astonishment at the findings, stating, "It was unbelievable because the type of ancestry we find in about a third of the individuals is so unusual for this part of the world."
However, Kathleen Morrison, an anthropologist from The University of Pennsylvania, suggested that the findings align with the region's history. She noted that a Greek kingdom, which would account for the Mediterranean descent, did exist in India around 180 BC.
"The fact that there's some unknown group of Mediterranean European people is not really a big revelation," she said. Morrison also posited that the bodies might have been intentionally placed in the lake by local people, stating, "I suspect that they're aggregated there, that local people put them in the lake. When you see a lot of human skeletons, usually it's a graveyard."
While the study has provided some answers, the mystery of Roopkund Lake remains largely unsolved. The presence of bodies from vastly different time periods and geographical regions continues to perplex researchers. As they delve deeper into this enigma, one can only hope that the lake will eventually yield its secrets, providing a clearer understanding of this intriguing chapter of human history.
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