50 Human Skulls Found near Karnataka Village
Hubli, Sep 2 (Indian Express): Authorities of Dharwad district in north Karnataka have called in forensic scientists and archaeologists to investigate the finding of nearly 50 human skulls outside Annigeri village.
The discovery was made last week by Annigeri town officials during the desilting of a storm water drain leading out of the town. The skulls were all found stacked together, while skeletons were spread over three acres.
Dharwad DC Darpan Jain said: “Only carbon dating will be able to tell us the time period (to which the skulls belonged).” Some skulls have been sent to BARC for carbon dating. State Home Minister V S Acharya said preliminary findings suggest the site could be a cemetery resulting from a battle.
Home minister confirms finding of 50 human skulls at Annigeri
Incidentally, home minister Dr V S Acharya, at a separate news conference, confirmed that about 50 human skulls were found at Annigeri in Dharwad district and indicated that the skulls may have been on account of a mass grave of about 200 years ago.
Dr Acharya said: ''It must have been a mass grave of 150 to 200 years ago. It must have been an abandoned cemetery. They might have been casualties of a minor battle at the time.”
The minister said these assumptions were based on preliminary information. “We have not arrived at any final conclusion.”
Two skulls have been plucked from the site for a detailed investigation, being carried out by forensic experts of state Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubli, and DNA experts from state University, Dharwad.
The Dharwad Deputy Commissioner Darpan Jain has been asked to submit a report to the government, the home minister mentioned.
The skulls were found in a row when an earthmover was being used to remove the silt from a drain on Saturday and the news has been attracting wide media coverage with a large number of people visiting the spot.