Roopkund: The Skeleton Lake of the Himalayas

Roopkund Lake is a glacial Himalayan lake in India. It has another name that derives from a gruesome discovery that was made there. This other name is "Skeleton Lake." Skeleton Lake is more than 16,000 feet above sea level and it is nestled in a valley with steep sides.

Skeleton Lake was made known to the world outside of the Himalayas in 1942. That year, a British "forest guard" stumbled upon the frozen lake and its horrifying contents. At the shores of the lake, he saw numerous human skeletons. During the thaw, it became apparent that there were many more skeletons where those came from.

A study was done on Skeleton Lake's skeletons to see whom they belonged to and how those people had died. The study did not reveal anything except the fact that the skeletons were not modern corpses. They had been there for a long time. The remains of more than 200 people have been found there and perhaps more are at the bottom of the lake and in the earth, yet there was no conclusive evidence of how they all died at once. The typical theories were postulated, of course. Perhaps they had died of a virulent disease, famine, massacre or natural disaster. It was not until 2004 that a viable cause was backed up by the study of the skeletons by scientists with modern equipment and knowledge.

In 2004, the skeletons of Skeleton Lake were dated to 850 C.E. They may have belonged to a group of travelers, as evidenced by possessions found on the skeletons and the fact that there is no evidence of a settlement. The reason they were traveling is unknown, though it may have been a religious pilgrimage. They probably did not die in the valley Roopkund is located in, but were pushed there by glacial activity or landslides.

All of the skeletons of Skeleton Lake were found to have one thing in common. They show signs of having been hit on the head and shoulder with round, blunt objects. This is most likely the cause of death. That does not sound like war, disease or famine. The scientists concluded that the trauma was caused by an extreme hailstorm.

The idea that so many people could be killed by a hailstorm is a strange one. However, these people had nothing to protect them from such weather. There is no shelter that could protect all of them near Roopkund. Some of them may have protected each other, but any survivors are long dead. Of course, that still begs the question, why are the wounds only about the head and shoulders? Surely, some of them must have fallen down after being struck. Therefore, the question of how they died is still open to speculation.

Sources

The Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, India, retrieved 5/24/11, atlasobscura.com/place/the-skeleton-lake-of-roopkund-india