Original subtitles

Narrator: OVER THE PAST CENTURY,

SOME OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUSEUMS

HAVE COLLECTED A HANDFUL OF MYSTERIOUS CRYSTAL SKULLS

SAID TO BE MASTERPIECES

OF ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THE SKULLS HAVE SUPERNATURAL POWERS.

Gough: YOU CAN'T HELP TO BE SKEPTICAL

ABOUT THE CRYSTAL SKULLS, BUT WHAT IF IT'S TRUE?

WHAT IF THEY ARE ANCIENT AND OTHER WORLDLY?

Narrator: MANY AMAZING LEGENDS HAVE FORMED

AROUND THE CRYSTAL SKULLS.

AND TODAY, BELIEVERS CLAIM TO BE ABLE

TO HARNESS THEIR ANCIENT POWERS.

IT WORKS NOT ONLY ON YOUR PHYSICAL BODY,

BUT IT ALSO WORKS ON YOUR MENTAL, YOUR PSYCHE,

AND YOUR SPIRITUAL BODY.

Johnsen-Moser: I WENT INTO AN ALTERED STATE.

I WAS BEING LIFTED THROUGH THE DIMENSIONS.

Narrator: WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

ARE THE CRYSTAL SKULLS JUST MODERN FAKES

OR ARE THEY GENUINE ANCIENT ARTIFACTS

THAT POSSESS EXTRAORDINARY POWERS?

Nickell: THAT'S JUST NOT CREDIBLE,

AND I WOULD SAY NOT SCIENTIFICALLY POSSIBLE.

THEY'RE MODERN, POST-COLUMBUS.

Gough: WHETHER WE BELIEVE THE LEGENDS OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

OR NOT, WE'RE FASCINATED

BY THE FACT THAT IT JUST MIGHT BE TRUE.

THESE THINGS COULD BE ANCIENT,

THEY COULD BE POWERFUL, THEY COULD BE EVIL,

AND WHAT IF THEY WERE? HOW AMAZING WOULD THAT BE?

*

-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator: FOR OVER 120 YEARS,

A HANDFUL OF EXTRAORDINARY CRYSTAL SKULLS

HAVE BEEN COLLECTED AND EXHIBITED

BY SOME OF THE WORLD'S LEADING MUSEUMS,

SUCH AS THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

AND THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

HISTORICALLY RENOWNED AS MASTERPIECES

OF ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS.

THE CRYSTAL SKULLS ARE SAID

BY SOME TO POSSESS SUPERNATURAL POWERS.

MANY PEOPLE HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT CRYSTAL SKULLS

ARE IN THEMSELVES OBJECTS OF POWER.

THEY'RE LIKE SPIRITUAL BATTERIES FOR GOOD OR EVIL.

THEY ARE PRE-PROGRAMMED COMPUTERS.

YOU JUST HAVE TO BASICALLY TOUCH THEM TO TUNE IN TO

THEIR EXTRAORDINARY ANCIENT LOST KNOWLEDGE.

Narrator: SKEPTICS, HOWEVER, DISPUTE THE CRYSTAL SKULLS'

SEEMINGLY MAGICAL PROPERTIES

AND CLAIM THAT THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

ARE INSTEAD ALL-TOO-ORDINARY MODERN FAKES.

IS THE WHOLE CRYSTAL SKULL LEGEND A BIG HOAX?

THE CHALLENGE IN DATING THE SKULLS

IS THAT THE CRYSTAL ITSELF CAN BE VERY, VERY OLD,

BUT WHEN WAS IT CARVED?

McMahon: THERE ARE TWO SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ON THE CRYSTAL SKULLS.

ONE IS THAT THEY ARE INCREDIBLY ANCIENT.

ALTERNATIVELY, THERE ARE MORE SKEPTICAL VOICES

WHO SAY THAT THE TECHNOLOGY USED IS MODERN

AND THE EVIDENCE IS THERE, THEY'RE BARELY 150 YEARS OLD.

Narrator: PROBABLY THE MOST MYSTERIOUS AND REMARKABLE

OF ALL CRYSTAL SKULLS

IS THE SO-CALLED MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL.

EXQUISITELY CARVED,

THIS PRIVATELY OWNED, APPARENTLY ANCIENT MASTERPIECE

IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE 1920s

IN THE LOST MAYAN CITY OF LUBAANTUN

IN WHAT WAS THEN BRITISH HONDURAS, NOW BELIZE.

THE MITCHELL-HEDGES CRYSTAL SKULL

IS PERHAPS THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS CRYSTAL SKULL

AND CONTINUES TO DRAW HUGE CROWDS

WHEREVER AND WHENEVER IT'S DISPLAYED.

IT REALLY IS JUST A REMARKABLY BEAUTIFUL ARTIFACT.

Narrator: THE ORIGINAL DISCOVERER OF THE SKULL IN THE 1920s

WAS SAID TO BE THE BRITISH ADVENTURER

AND POPULAR AUTHOR F.A. MITCHELL-HEDGES,

WHO LATER WROTE ABOUT THE SKULL

AND HIS EXPLORATIONS AT LUBAANTUN IN HIS LURID

AND MELODRAMATIC 1950s AUTOBIOGRAPHY,

"DANGER MY ALLY."

IN HIS MEMOIRS, MITCHELL-HEDGES STIPULATES THAT THE SKULL

IS OVER 3,000 YEARS OLD AND IS THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL.

IN FACT, HE CALLS IT THE "SKULL OF DOOM."

Narrator: MITCHELL-HEDGES ALSO SAID IN HIS MEMOIRS

THAT ACCORDING TO LOCAL LEGEND IN LUBAANTUN,

THE SKULL OF DOOM WAS USED BY THE ANCIENT MAYAN HIGH PRIESTS

TO PERFORM DARK AND ESOTERIC RITUALS.

MITCHELL-HEDGES WAS A KIND OF STEREOTYPE OF THE PIPE SMOKER

WHO JUST WOULD TAKE A PUFF ON HIS PIPE

AND THEN TELL SOME WHOPPING TALL TALE.

I THINK EVERYTHING HE DID WAS KIND OF SELF-PROMOTION,

TRYING TO GIVE HIMSELF A KIND OF EXOTIC AND EXCITING LIFE.

MITCHELL-HEDGES IS A REALLY INTERESTING CHARACTER.

HE WAS ABSOLUTELY A BIG PERSONALITY,

A VERY HIGH PROFILE ADVENTURE EXPLORER,

QUITE THE INDIANA JONES OF HIS DAY.

Narrator: FITTINGLY, ONE OF THE INDIANA JONES MOVIES

WAS FOCUSED ON THE MYSTERY OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS.

INDIANA JONES MOVIE ABOUT THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

CERTAINLY ADDED TO THE OOMPH BEHIND

THE WHOLE CRYSTAL SKULL STORY,

Narrator: AS TOLD BY THE MITCHELL-HEDGES FAMILY,

THE DRAMA SURROUNDING THE DISCOVERY OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

IN THE 1920s RIVALED ANY INDIANA JONES PLOTLINE.

IRONICALLY, TODAY, THE CURRENT OWNER OF

THE SKULL OF DOOM LIVES IN INDIANA.

BILL HOMANN REGULARLY DOES PUBLIC TOURS

WITH THE SKULL SPREADING ITS FAME.

BILL IS THE WIDOWER OF MITCHELL-HEDGES' DAUGHTER ANNA,

WHO DIED IN 2007.

ANNA INHERITED THE CRYSTAL SKULL AFTER HER FATHER'S DEATH.

AND WHEN BILL FIRST MET HER IN THE 1980s,

THEY BONDED OVER THEIR REVERENCE FOR THE SKULL

AND ITS LEGENDARY POWERS.

Homann: YEAH, WE WOULD SIT AT A PICNIC TABLE

IN THE BACKYARD WITH THE SKULL AND WE'D SIT THERE AND TALK

AND IT'D BE JUST THE SKULL AND ANNA AND I'S SELF.

AND AS WE WERE TALKING AND SOMEBODY TOOK A PICTURE OF IT.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE SKULL, TO ME, IT LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE BABY

SITTING THERE RIGHT BETWEEN US. CAN YOU SEE THAT?

Narrator: ANNA MITCHELL-HEDGES EXPLAINED TO BILL

THAT AT THE AGE OF 17, SHE HAD ACCOMPANIED HER FATHER

DURING HIS EXPLORATIONS IN BELIZE,

AND SHE TOLD BILL THAT IT WAS SHE, NOT HER FATHER,

WHO HAD ORIGINALLY DISCOVERED THE SKULL

IN LUBAANTUN'S TALLEST PYRAMID.

ANNA, THE ADVENTURER'S LITTLE GIRL,

WHICH SHE WAS, SNUCK TO THE TOP OF THIS PYRAMID,

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SUN MOVE BEHIND THIS CLOUD

AND CAME STRAIGHT DOWN INTO THE ROCKS.

AND INSIDE THE PYRAMID WAS A BIG LIGHT,

AND SHE RAN DOWN TO TELL HER FATHER.

HE GOT ALL THE MEN UP, AND TOOK THEM LIKE SIX WEEKS

TO MAKE A SMALL HOLE IN THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID.

AND ANNA WAS CHOSEN, BEING THE SMALL PERSON.

THEY TIED A ROPE AROUND HER AND LOWERED HER INTO THIS PYRAMID

THAT'S COMPLETELY DARK, HADN'T BEEN OPEN FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.

AND SHE'S GOING DOWN, DOWN INTO IT.

AND SHE FEELS AROUND AND FINDS SOMETHING.

AND WHEN THEY BRING HER BACK UP AND THE SUN HITS THE SKULL,

THE MAYANS STARTED CRYING AND KISSING THE GROUND.

IT'S LIKE THEIR GOD HAS RETURNED.

Narrator: SINCE ANNA'S DEATH,

BILL HAS CAREFULLY TREASURED THE CRYSTAL SKULL

THAT HER FATHER INITIALLY CALLED THE "SKULL OF DOOM."

IT WAS DUE TO ITS APPARENT POWERS OF HEALING, HOWEVER,

THAT BILL AND ANNA RENAMED IT THE "SKULL OF LOVE."

ANNA'S CLAIMS THAT SHE ATTRIBUTED TO THE SKULL

ARE REALLY QUITE INCREDIBLE.

FOR A START, SHE SAID IT COULD CURE CANCER.

FOR THE LAST, LIKE, SEVEN YEARS OF HER LIFE,

SHE TRAINED ME ON WHAT TO DO WITH THE SKULL,

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE SKULL, AND WHAT SHE EXPECTED.

SHE DIDN'T WANT IT TO GO TO A MUSEUM BECAUSE IN A MUSEUM

IT'D BE IN A 1-INCH THICK GLASS,

AND SHE FELT THAT THE SKULL NEEDED TO BE AROUND PEOPLE.

AND IT HAS AN IMPORTANT JOB TO DO RIGHT NOW.

IT WORKS NOT ONLY ON YOUR PHYSICAL BODY,

BUT IT ALSO WORKS ON YOUR MENTAL,

YOUR PSYCHE, AND YOUR SPIRITUAL BODY

BECAUSE IT WORKS ON YOUR HEART CHAKRA.

YOU HAVE TO SEE IT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IT.

Narrator: DOES THE SKULL OF LOVE

KEPT SECURELY PADLOCKED IN BILL'S HOUSE,

REALLY HAVE SUCH REMARKABLE POWERS AND CAN HE PROVE IT?

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT.

*

Narrator: FOR OVER A CENTURY,

MANY LEGENDS HAVE FORMED AROUND A HANDFUL OF CRYSTAL SKULLS

SAID TO HAVE ORIGINALLY BEEN USED

BY MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS

SUCH AS THE MAYA FOR DARK AND ESOTERIC RITUALS.

IT'S CLAIMED THAT THE CRYSTAL SKULLS' ANCIENT POWERS

CAN BE HARNESSED FOR HEALING EVEN TODAY.

THE MOST FAMOUS OF THESE APPARENTLY THERAPEUTIC SKULLS

IS THE SO-CALLED "SKULL OF LOVE,"

WHICH ANNA MITCHELL-HEDGES SAID

SHE FOUND INSIDE AN ANCIENT MAYAN PYRAMID.

AFTER THE DEATH OF HER FATHER ANNA MITCHELL-HEDGES BECOMES

A BIT OF A CULT FIGURE

BECAUSE SHE TAKES THE MITCHELL-HEDGES CRYSTAL SKULL

ON TOUR AROUND THE WORLD.

ANNA WENT ON TO MARRY BILL HOMANN,

AND AFTER ANNA'S DEATH, BILL HAS CONTINUED THE TRADITION

OF THE MITCHELL-HEDGES CRYSTAL SKULL GOING ON TOUR.

PEOPLE PERFORM MEDITATIONS WITH IT

AND IT CONTINUES TO BE EVEN MORE OF A NEW-AGE ICON

THAN IT EVER WAS IN ANNA'S TIME.

Narrator: TODAY, WHEN IT ISN'T OUT ON TOUR FOR HEALING SESSIONS,

THE SKULL OF LOVE IS KEPT SECURELY PADLOCKED

IN BILL HOMANN'S HOUSE.

BILL CLAIMS THAT QUARTZ-ROCK CRYSTAL,

FROM WHICH ALL CRYSTAL SKULLS ARE CARVED,

HAS REMARKABLE SCIENTIFIC PROPERTIES.

QUARTZ, HE SAYS, CAN STORE

AND TRANSMIT ANCIENT WISDOM AND ENERGY,

HELPING TO EXPLAIN THE CRYSTAL SKULL'S HEALING POWERS.

AS FAR AS HEALING, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO SAY,

"OH, YOU COME HERE, YOU'RE GONNA GET HEALED."

THAT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY. THE SKULL HAS

ITS OWN PROGRAM, ITS OWN AGENDA.

THERE'S 20 PEOPLE IN THE ROOM,

THE SKULL WILL AFFECT EACH ONE IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

SO IT'S NOT LIKE ONE THING FITS ALL,

BUT IT'S VERY, VERY INDIVIDUAL.

SOMETIMES WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A PROBLEM IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD,

IT'S CAUSED BY SOMETHING MAYBE PSYCHICALLY

OR MAYBE EVEN SPIRITUALLY.

SO, WHERE THE HEALING GOES IS WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO.

AND IT'S VERY, VERY UNUSUAL HOW IT CHANGES PEOPLE

BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOUR INNER SELF WHO YOU ARE

AND WHAT YOUR CAPABILITIES ARE.

I TELL PEOPLE, "ONCE YOU SEE IT, YOU'LL NEVER, EVER FORGET IT,"

AND THAT'S SEEMS TO BE THE CASE.

Narrator: THE ASSERTION THAT THE SKULL OF LOVE

HAS THE POWER TO HEAL IS A REMARKABLE CLAIM.

HOW COULD IT BE POSSIBLE?

BILL BELIEVES THE SCIENTIFIC PROPERTIES

OF QUARTZ PROVIDE THE EXPLANATION.

ITS PIEZOELECTRIC QUARTZ IS THE SAME KIND OF QUARTZ

THAT THEY MAKE COMPUTER CHIPS OUT OF.

AND SO THIS IS LIKE A SUPERCOMPUTER.

AND IF WE HAD THE KNOWLEDGE TO UNDERSTAND

HOW IT WAS PROGRAMMED,

I WOULD THINK WE WOULD BE ABLE TO USE IT

FOR A LOT OF GOOD THINGS FOR MANKIND RIGHT NOW.

Narrator: BILL BELIEVES THE ANCIENT WISDOM

PROGRAMMED INTO THE SKULL OF LOVE OVER 1,000 YEARS AGO

HAS BEEN STORED WITHIN THE SKULL EVER SINCE

AS A RESULT OF THE CRYSTAL'S PIEZOELECTRICAL PROPERTIES.

Gough: THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT CRYSTALS

APPEAR TO HAVE QUALITIES UNIQUE TO THEM.

THEY'RE SPECIAL,

BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT A CRYSTAL SKULL

HAS MAGICAL POWERS.

Narrator: MATERIAL SCIENTIST AND ARTIST

ASHWINI BHARATHULA IS AN EXPERT ON

THE CRYSTAL'S GENUINE PIEZOELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Bharathula: SO WHAT HAPPENS WITH PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS

IS THAT IF YOU TAKE THESE CRYSTALS LIKE QUARTZ,

FOR EXAMPLE, AND YOU MAKE A SLICE OUT OF THIS CRYSTAL

AND KIND OF PRESS DOWN UPON IT OR SQUEEZE ON IT,

IT GENERATES POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CHARGES

ON THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CRYSTAL.

SO NOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING LIKE A TINY BATTERY

OR A POWER SOURCE.

THE CUTS THAT YOU MAKE IN THESE CRYSTALS

HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY PRECISE AND DONE IN A CERTAIN WAY.

THE HIGHER THE FORCE YOU APPLY, THE GREATER THE VOLTAGE.

Narrator: THE REVERSE ALSO APPLIES.

IF AN ALTERNATING CURRENT IS APPLIED TO QUARTZ,

IT WILL COMPRESS AND EXPAND ALTERNATELY.

IN OTHER WORDS, OSCILLATE.

IN FACT, THE ENERGY PRODUCED BY CRYSTAL OSCILLATORS TODAY

HELPS QUARTZ WATCHES AND COMPUTERS TO KEEP ACCURATE TIME.

EXTRAPOLATING FROM THESE SCIENTIFIC FACTS,

BELIEVERS IN THE HEALING POWERS OF CRYSTAL SKULLS

SAY THAT LIKE A COMPUTER,

QUARTZ CAN STORE ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE

AS DATA CODED INTO THE FORM OF ENERGY.

BELIEVERS ALSO CLAIM THAT QUARTZ CAN ABSORB, STORE,

RELEASE, AND AMPLIFY

BOTH HEALING ENERGY AND MALEVOLENT POWERS.

*

Bharathula: MANY PEOPLE DO BELIEVE THAT THESE CRYSTALS

HAVE HEALING PROPERTIES

AND THAT DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF QUARTZ

WILL BRING BENEFITS TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR BODY, IF YOU WILL.

PERSONALLY, I'M SKEPTICAL ABOUT THESE CLAIMS

BECAUSE OF THE BASIC DISCONNECT THAT EXISTS BETWEEN

THE CLAIMS AND THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR THEM.

Narrator: BUT BELIEVERS IN THE POWER OF CRYSTAL SKULLS

EMPHASIZE THAT EVEN IF CRYSTALS'

THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES CAN'T BE SCIENTIFICALLY EXPLAINED,

THEY HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

IN MANY ANCIENT CULTURES, PEOPLE WORE CRYSTAL AMULETS

TO WARD OFF ILLNESS AND NEGATIVE ENERGY,

AND THE PRACTICE REMAINS POPULAR TODAY.

PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT BY OWNING A CERTAIN TYPE

OF ROCK OR CRYSTAL

THAT IT WOULD MAYBE CURE A DISEASE

OR IT WOULD GIVE THEM GOOD FORTUNE.

AND THIS HAS BEEN REVIVED IN RECENT

DECADES WITH KIND OF ESOTERIC AND NEW-AGE BELIEFS,

AND IT'S NOW A VAST INDUSTRY.

AND IF YOU'RE CONVINCED THAT A SMALL CRYSTAL

CAN HAVE A CERTAIN CURATIVE HEALING POWER,

THEN IMAGINE A SKULL, A QUARTZ SKULL.

I MEAN, JUST THE POWER OF THAT IMAGERY ALLIES

TO ITS PHYSICAL PROPERTIES GOES A LONG WAY TO EXPLAIN

WHY PEOPLE ASCRIBE A HUGE AMOUNT OF SIGNIFICANCE

TO THESE OBJECTS.

Narrator: IS THERE ANY REAL LIFE EVIDENCE OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL'S

CLAIMED THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS?

ACCORDING TO TRADITIONAL MAYAN WISDOM,

SKULLS DO POSSESS REMARKABLE AND TRANSFORMATIVE POWERS.

*

Narrator: TREASURED IN MUSEUMS

AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS ACROSS THE WORLD,

A HANDFUL OF APPARENTLY ANCIENT CRYSTAL SKULLS

ARE SAID TO POSSESS SUPERNATURAL POWERS,

BOTH MALEVOLENT AND HEALING,

PARTLY AS A RESULT OF THE CLAIMED SCIENTIFIC PROPERTIES

OF QUARTZ.

Picknett: THERE ARE EXTRAORDINARY SPECIAL PROPERTIES TO CRYSTALS,

AND IT'S GIVEN RISE TO ALL SORTS OF IDEAS,

SEMI-MYSTICAL IDEAS, THAT IF YOU GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

WITH ONE OF THESE SKULLS, YOU CAN ABSORB

SOME OF ITS AMAZING VIBRATIONS FOR GOOD OR ILL.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH ANCIENT CRYSTAL SKULLS

ARE THOUGHT TO POSSESS THE GREATEST POWERS,

EVEN MODERN CRYSTAL SKULLS

ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE A THERAPEUTIC EFFECT.

TODAY, POPULAR SPIRITUAL HEALER STAR JOHNSEN MOSER

IS LEADING A HEALING CEREMONY

USING CRYSTAL SKULLS ON MEXICO'S YUCATAN PENINSULA.

Johnsen-Moser: IN THE COURSE OF THE CEREMONY,

ALL OF THESE CRYSTALS ON THE ALTAR

WILL BE AMPLIFYING THE HEALING ENERGY --

THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE UNIVERSE, THE LIFE FORCE,

WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.

AND IF WE CAN OPEN OURSELVES ENOUGH,

WE CAN ALLOW THE ENTIRE ENERGY OF THE UNIVERSE

TO FLOW THROUGH US.

BUT WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE WAY.

Narrator: STAR HAS CHOSEN THIS LOCATION FOR THE HEALING CEREMONY

BECAUSE 1,000 YEARS AGO,

THIS REGION WAS A CULTURAL STRONGHOLD OF THE ANCIENT MAYA,

WHO ARE SAID TO HAVE ORIGINALLY HARNESSED

THE POWERS OF CRYSTAL SKULLS.

SO ISRAEL IS GOING TO OFFER THIS WATER INTO THE OCEAN

AND CALL FORTH THE ANCESTORS IN THE MAYAN LANGUAGE

IF ANYBODY FEELS LIKE TAKING A CRYSTAL SKULL.

AND PUTTING IT IN THE WATER CAN DO IT, JUST DON'T LET IT GO.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE THERAPEUTIC SIGNIFICANCE

OF CRYSTAL IS DISPUTED,

LOCAL MAYAN SHAMAN ISRAEL EXPLAINS THAT CRYSTAL SKULLS

HELP SPIRITUALLY REVITALIZE PEOPLE BECAUSE SKULLS,

BY THEIR VERY NATURE,

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO FOCUS ON LIFE.

McMahon: THERE'S UNDOUBTEDLY SOMETHING ABOUT THE IMAGE OF THE SKULL

THAT'S HUGELY POWERFUL.

I MEAN, WE'VE ALL GOT A SKULL,

IT'S SITTING SOMEWHERE UNDERNEATH MY -- MY SKIN HERE,

BUT THE SIGHT OF A SKULL RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT DEATH.

WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S AN AFTERLIFE,

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT LOOKING INTO A SKULL

THAT REALLY MOVES AND UNNERVES US.

Narrator: WHETHER OR NOT THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

ACTUALLY HAVE ANY REAL INFLUENCE

ON THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE CEREMONY,

IT SEEMS CLEAR THAT PEOPLE DO FEEL BETTER AFTERWARDS.

THE CEREMONY WAS ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS.

IT WAS REALLY VERY MOVING, AND I THINK LITTLE BY LITTLE,

IF WE SPREAD THIS KIND OF ENERGY,

WE WILL CREATE A BETTER PLANET.

WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DO WE WANT TO BE?

THERE IS AN IMMENSE APPEAL TO BELIEVING THAT CRYSTAL SKULLS

HAVE A MAGICAL QUALITY.

IT'S IMBUED WITH POWER BY PEOPLE'S BELIEF.

IT'S A KIND OF SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY.

Narrator: PERHAPS THE POWER OF CRYSTAL SKULLS IS JUST A PLACEBO EFFECT.

THE SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLE, WHICH SUGGESTS

THAT IF YOU BELIEVE SOMETHING CAN HEAL YOU, THEN IT WILL.

ALTHOUGH BELIEVERS FEEL ALL CRYSTAL SKULLS,

EVEN MODERN ONES, CAN HAVE A HEALING EFFECT,

THE SUPPOSEDLY ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN CRYSTAL SKULLS

ARE SAID TO HAVE MUCH GREATER POWERS.

BUT ARE THESE LEGENDARY CRYSTAL SKULLS ACTUALLY ANCIENT

OR ARE THEY NOTHING MORE THAN MODERN FAKES?

IN RECENT YEARS, SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS HAS PROVIDED CLUES.

*

SINCE THE LATE 19th CENTURY,

A HANDFUL OF MYSTERIOUS CRYSTAL SKULLS

HAVE BEEN TREASURED BY PRIVATE COLLECTORS

AND SOME OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUSEUMS,

SUCH AS THE SMITHSONIAN AND THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

LONG ACCEPTED AS ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN MASTERPIECES,

THE CRYSTAL SKULLS ARE BELIEVED TO POSSESS EXTRAORDINARY POWERS.

BUT DOES SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SUGGEST THAT THEY ARE,

IN FACT, JUST MODERN DAY FAKES?

NOBODY WANTS TO BE A SPOILSPORT AND SAY,

YOU KNOW, THESE SKULLS ARE NOT AS OLD AS IT'S CLAIMED,

BUT OF COURSE, IT'S HUGELY IMPORTANT TO THE MUSEUMS --

TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM

BECAUSE THEY CAN'T PUT SKULLS ON DISPLAY,

CLAIMING THEY'RE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD

WHEN THEY'RE NOTHING OF THE SORT.

Narrator: IN RECENT DECADES, SCIENTIFIC TECHNIQUES

HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO DATE THE CRYSTAL SKULLS.

BUT INITIALLY, IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY,

WHEN THE BRITISH MUSEUM PURCHASED THEIR SKULL,

THE CRYSTAL SKULLS WERE AUTHENTICATED

MAINLY ON THE BASIS OF THEIR VERY CONVINCING SIMILARITY

TO OTHER MESOAMERICAN SCULPTURES.

ANYBODY WHO'S BEEN TO HISTORIC SITES IN MEXICO

OR CENTRAL AMERICA WILL HAVE SEEN PLENTY OF SKULLS.

I MEAN, THEY POP UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN PRE-COLUMBIAN ART.

SO THE IDEA OF SKULLS BEING MADE

BY THESE PEOPLES IS NOT OUTLANDISH.

NEVERTHELESS, THE PROBLEM WITH THESE CRYSTAL SKULLS,

ALL OF THEM, EVEN THE ONES HELD BY MUSEUMS,

IS THAT THERE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH EVIDENCE OF REAL ARCHAEOLOGY

HAVING BEEN BEHIND THEIR DISCOVERY.

THE ONLY ACCOUNTS THAT WE HAVE OF THE DISCOVERY

OF A CRYSTAL SKULL IS THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL,

AND EVEN THAT IS CALLED MASSIVELY INTO QUESTION.

Narrator: UNTIL THE END OF HER LIFE,

ANNA MITCHELL-HEDGES STUCK BY HER STORY

OF THE SKULL'S DISCOVERY.

SHE CLAIMED THAT DURING THE 1920s

WHEN HER FATHER WAS EXPLORING

THE LOST ANCIENT MAYAN CITY OF LUBAANTUN IN WHAT IS NOW BELIZE,

SHE FOUND WHAT HE CALLED THE "SKULL OF DOOM."

BUT ANNA'S STORY WAS NEVER CORROBORATED BY ANYONE ELSE

WHO WAS AT LUBAANTUN AT THE TIME.

Gough: NONE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS WORKING AT THE MAYAN TEMPLE SITE

MAKE ANY RECORD OF A DISCOVERY OF A CRYSTAL SKULL.

AND OF COURSE, YOU WOULD, RIGHT?

SO THERE'S ALL KINDS OF UNCERTAINTY,

AND RIGHTFULLY SO, THAT'S BEEN LEVIED AGAINST,

"WHERE DID THIS ALLEGED MAYAN CRYSTAL

SKULL ACTUALLY COME FROM?"

Narrator: THE BRITISH MUSEUM CRYSTAL SKULL, MEANWHILE,

WAS PURCHASED IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY VIA AN ANTIQUES DEALER.

BUT FROM WHICH ANCIENT ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE

IT WAS EXCAVATED, IF ANY, IS UNCLEAR.

IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO RADIOCARBON DATE

A CRYSTAL SKULL BY EXAMINING ORGANIC MATERIAL

IN THE LAYER OF EARTH IT WAS DUG UP FROM.

BUT WITHOUT THIS OPTION,

SKEPTICS HAVE HAD TO RELY ON LESS CERTAIN

RECENTLY DEVELOPED METHODS

TO TEST THE AGE OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS.

McMahon: THE BRITISH MUSEUM AND THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULLS

HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO TESTS USING NEW TECHNOLOGY.

AND THIS HAS INVOLVED THE APPLICATION

OF DENTAL PUTTY ONTO THE SKULLS

AND THEN AN ANALYSIS OF THE INCISION MARKS.

Gough: YOU CAN ACTUALLY APPROXIMATE THE DATE OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

BY EXAMINING THE TOOL MARKS ON THE CRYSTAL.

AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, IN EACH CASE,

WE FIND MARKINGS OF A ROTARY DEVICE

THAT WOULD ONLY HAVE BEEN IN EXISTENCE IN THE 19th CENTURY.

SO UNLESS THE MAYANS HAD MOTORIZED ROTARY TOOLS

THAT WE'RE NOT AWARE OF,

THEY HAVE TO BE MODERN CREATIONS.

Narrator: THE SCIENTIFIC JUDGMENT THAT MOTORIZED TOOLS WERE USED

TO CARVE THE CRYSTAL SKULLS AND THAT THEY ARE

THEREFORE MODERN IS ACCEPTED BY MOST OBSERVERS,

BUT NOT BY THE CARETAKER OF THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL --

BILL HOMANN.

Homann: THEY KEEP WANTING TO SAY THAT IT WAS MADE WITH MODERN TOOLS,

BUT I DID THE SAME TEST USING THE SAME TECHNIQUE

WITH THIS DENTAL PUTTY,

AND I TOOK IT OFF AND I WORKED WITH A SCIENTIST

FROM ONE OF THE UNIVERSITIES, AND WE DID TESTING ON IT

AND WE FOUND THAT IT'S PERFECTLY CLEAR AND NO MARKS AT ANY KIND.

SO THE SKULL DOES NOT HAVE ANY TOOL MARKS

ANYWHERE ON THE SKULL.

Narrator: EVEN IF IT'S PROVEN BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT

THAT MOTORIZED TOOLS WERE USED TO CARVE THE CRYSTAL SKULL,

BILL BELIEVES THIS STILL DOESN'T CONFIRM

THAT IT'S MODERN.

McMahon: THE CRYSTAL SKULLS ARE OF SUCH INCREDIBLE PERFECTION,

AND THEY'VE BEEN CRAFTED IN SUCH AN EXACT WAY

THAT SOME CLAIM THAT EXTRATERRESTRIALS

COULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF THESE SKULLS.

WHO MADE IT? HOW IT WAS MADE?

I DON'T KNOW.

IT'S THE MOST MYSTERIOUS ARTIFACT.

BUT I'M SURE THAT THERE IS SOME TYPE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL GROUP

THAT COMMUNICATES WITH THE SKULL OR THROUGH THE SKULL.

THEY SAY IT HAS THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE

PROGRAMMED INSIDE OF IT.

THE MAYANS SAY THAT IT'S A COMMUNICATOR WITH THE GODS,

IS WHAT THEY CALL IT.

Narrator: IT'S CERTAINLY A REMARKABLE CLAIM THAT ALIENS

MAY HAVE CREATED THE SKULL OF LOVE

AND THE OTHER ANCIENT CRYSTAL SKULLS,

BUT BELIEVERS SAY THAT THIS EXTRAORDINARY CLAIM

IS IN FACT SUPPORTED BY THE CONTENT OF ANCIENT MAYAN TEXT.

*

FOR OVER A CENTURY, MANY LEGENDS HAVE FORMED

AROUND A HANDFUL OF MYSTERIOUS CRYSTAL SKULLS

SAID TO HAVE BEEN USED BY MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS

SUCH AS THE MAYA FOR ESOTERIC RITUALS.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE HAS INDICATED

THAT ADVANCED MOTORIZED TOOLS WERE LIKELY USED TO CARVE THEM.

PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THE CRYSTAL SKULLS

HAVE UNEARTHLY POWERS CLAIM

THAT THE ANCIENTS RECEIVED OTHER WORLDLY GUIDANCE.

Gough: A SOLID PIECE OF CRYSTAL WAS A REALLY DIFFICULT THING

TO CARVE WITH THE INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNOLOGY

AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF THE MAYANS.

SO OF COURSE, THE BELIEF IS THEY MUST HAVE HAD SOME HELP.

Narrator: THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT ALIEN INTELLIGENCE

SHAPED THE CRYSTAL SKULLS POINT TO WHAT THEY CLAIM

IS CORROBORATING EVIDENCE FOUND IN A REMARKABLE DOCUMENT

KNOWN AS THE "DRESDEN CODEX."

THE "DRESDEN CODEX" IS A REALLY IMPORTANT

PIECE OF THE MAYAN LEGEND.

IT'S THE OLDEST SURVIVING PIECE OF PRE-COLUMBIAN LITERATURE.

AND WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT ABOUT IT IS THAT IT REFERS

TO A REALLY ELITE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE THAT THE MAYANS HAD,

IN TERMS OF ASTRONOMY, DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS

ABOUT THE TRANSIT OF VENUS AND ECLIPSE TABLE PREDICTIONS,

YOU KNOW, REALLY INTRICATE STUFF.

PEOPLE BELIEVE THERE'S NO WAY THE MAYANS

COULD HAVE KNOWN THAT,

THUS, THEY MUST HAVE BEEN GUIDED BY EXTRATERRESTRIALS.

Narrator: ACCORDING TO BILL HOMANN,

MAYAN LEGEND SUGGESTS SOMETHING MORE SPECIFIC

ABOUT THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL,

THE SO-CALLED "SKULL OF LOVE"

MAY NOT ONLY HAVE A CONNECTION WITH ALIENS,

IT MAY HAVE BEEN CREATED IN THE LOST SUNKEN KINGDOM OF ATLANTIS.

THE MAYA BELIEVE THAT IT WAS BROUGHT TO THEIR THEIR HOMELAND

BY A PEOPLE WHOSE LAND HAD GONE UNDER THE SEA

MANY, MANY YEARS AGO.

THERE WAS A MAIN AREA OF ATLANTIS

AND THAT, I BELIEVE, WAS PROBABLY AROUND THE BAHAMAS,

AND THIS SKULL PROBABLY HAS SOMETHING TO DO

WITH THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE AND THE ENERGY DOWN THERE --

THE STRANGE ENERGY THAT THEY'RE FINDING.

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE SKULL WAS CREATED

FOR AN ATLANTEAN HIGH PRIEST THAT WAS LOVED VERY MUCH.

AND THEY TOOK HIS PHYSICAL SKULL

AND THEY USE THAT AS A MOLD TO BUILD THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

SO YOU SEE IN A SKULL, THERE'S ALL THE BUMPS.

THAT A REGULAR SKULL HAS.

IF YOU LOOK IN THE EYES OF THE SKULL,

IT, LIKE, TAKES YOU INTO A WORLD,

SOME OTHER KIND OF WORLD,

SO IT'S PRETTY AMAZING THAT WAY.

Narrator: BELIEVERS IN THE CRYSTAL SKULLS' SUPERNATURAL POWERS

CAN FIND THEMSELVES APPARENTLY BEING TRANSPORTED BY THE SKULLS

INTO MYSTERIOUS ALTERED STATES.

ONE SUCH OCCURRENCE WAS EXPERIENCED

BY SPIRITUAL HEALER STAR JOHNSEN MOSER

WHEN SHE WAS INVITED FOR A PERSONAL SESSION

WITH THE SKULL OF LOVE

IN ORDER TO LEARN FROM THE ANCIENT WISDOM

SUPPOSEDLY PROGRAMMED INTO IT.

WHEN I WAS ACTUALLY WITH THE SKULL

AND WAS DOWNLOADING FREQUENCIES FROM IT,

I WENT INTO AN ALTERED STATE, AND I WAS LIFTED.

I WAS BEING LIFTED THROUGH THE DIMENSIONS,

AND I FOUND MYSELF IN THIS INCREDIBLE SOLAR TEMPLE.

AND AS I WAS SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE,

FLOWERS WERE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH

AND PEOPLE WERE THERE RECEIVING THE FLOWERS

AND BEING BLESSED BY THE SACRED LANGUAGE.

SO THAT WAS MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL.

EVERY SKULL IS DIFFERENT.

AND WHAT I BELIEVE ABOUT THOSE SO-CALLED ANCIENT SKULLS,

THEY HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE

BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE HOLOGRAPHIC COMPUTERS.

THEY STORE INFORMATION.

THEY'RE LIKE LIVING LIBRARIES TO THE PLANET.

THERE IS SOME DEBATE AS TO WHETHER

THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL IS ANCIENT OR NOT,

BUT DEFINITELY SOME HIGHER LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS

WENT INTO THAT SKULL AND TRANSMITTED THAT INFORMATION,

YOU KNOW.

THEY'RE RECEIVERS,

SO IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER TO ME IF THEY'RE ANCIENT OR WHAT.

I'VE LEARNED THROUGH THIS WORK

TO HAVE A DIFFERENT CONCEPT OF TIME

BECAUSE TIME IS AN ILLUSION.

IT'S ALL HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Narrator: SKEPTICS BELIEVE THAT TIME AND DATES ARE IMPORTANT, HOWEVER.

ANNA MITCHELL-HEDGES, FOR EXAMPLE,

CLAIMED THAT SHE'D FOUND THE RELIC

HER FATHER CALLED THE "SKULL OF DOOM"

AT THE LOST ANCIENT MAYAN CITY OF LUBAANTUN IN THE 1920s.

BUT SKEPTICAL INVESTIGATOR JOE NICKELL HAS DISCOVERED EVIDENCE

WHICH HE BELIEVES INDICATES THAT THIS STORY CANNOT BE TRUE.

THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL

HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MAYANS.

IT'S AT THE CENTER OF AN INCREDIBLE HOAX.

Narrator: WHAT IS THE SUPPOSEDLY CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE

SUGGESTING THAT THE MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL

IS NOT WHAT IT'S CLAIMED TO BE?

AND IF THIS AND THE OTHER FAMOUS CRYSTAL SKULLS

ARE REALLY FAKES CREATED IN THE MODERN ERA,

WHO MADE THEM, HOW, AND WHY?

*

Narrator: 150 YEARS AGO, THE GREAT CULTURAL ACHIEVEMENTS

OF THE MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS,

SUCH AS THE MAYA, WERE LITTLE KNOWN,

BUT FROM THE MID-19th CENTURY ONWARDS,

MANY SPECTACULAR LOST CITIES BEGAN TO BE DISCOVERED.

SOON, A HANDFUL OF MYSTERIOUS CRYSTAL SKULLS

APPEARED ON THE ART MARKET

AND WERE BOUGHT BY SOME OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUSEUMS.

McMahon: AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY,

THERE'S MASSIVE INTEREST IN EUROPE

IN ALL THINGS PRE-COLOMBIAN,

AND THE BRITISH MUSEUM GOT ONTO THE BANDWAGON

AND BOUGHT THIS SKULL AT THAT TIME,

BELIEVED TO BE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.

Narrator: WITH NO SCIENTIFIC TECHNIQUES AT THE TIME

TO ACCURATELY DATE IT, NOR PROOF OF WHERE IT WAS FOUND,

THE BRITISH MUSEUM SKULL WAS ORIGINALLY AUTHENTICATED MAINLY

BECAUSE IT EXHIBITED TRAITS

MATCHING AN ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN OBSESSION WITH SKULLS.

ANOTHER FAMOUS CRYSTAL SKULL CAME TO LIGHT IN THE 1950s

WHEN ADVENTURER FREDERICK MITCHELL-HEDGES

WROTE ABOUT THE SKULL OF DOOM IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

HIS DAUGHTER, ANNA,

SAID SHE'D FOUND THE SKULL IN THE 1920s,

HIDDEN IN AN ANCIENT MAYAN PYRAMID AT LUBAANTUN

IN WHAT'S NOW BELIZE.

SADLY, IT WOULD APPEAR AS THOUGH

THE STORY OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

IS NOT WHAT WE WERE LED TO BELIEVE.

DOCUMENTATION CONFIRMS THAT FREDERICK MITCHELL-HEDGES

PURCHASED THE CRYSTAL SKULL IN 1943

AT A SOTHEBY'S AUCTION.

Narrator: IT WAS SKEPTICAL INVESTIGATOR JOE NICKELL

WHO DID THE DETECTIVE WORK TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH

ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE SKULL OF DOOM,

LATER RENAMED THE SKULL OF LOVE.

IT TURNED OUT THAT MITCHELL-HEDGES

HAD BOUGHT THIS SKULL FROM AN ART DEALER

NAMED SYDNEY BURNEY.

Narrator: BUT WHEN CONTACTED BY NICKELL ABOUT HIS FINDINGS,

MITCHELL-HEDGES' DAUGHTER ANNA STOOD BY HER STORY

OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL'S DISCOVERY.

SHE TOLD HIM THAT AFTER SHE FOUND THE SKULL

IN THE 1920s INSIDE THE MAYAN PYRAMID AT LUBAANTUN,

HER FATHER GAVE IT TO BERNIE AS A SECURITY FOR A LOAN.

AND THEN LATER BOUGHT IT BACK AT SOTHEBY'S.

WE ASKED HER IF SHE HAD ANY KIND OF DOCUMENTARY PROOF,

NO, NO, IT HAD ALL BEEN DESTROYED IN A HURRICANE.

Narrator: WHATEVER THE TRUTH IS,

SKEPTICS POINT TO THE SCIENTIFIC TESTS

INDICATING THAT BOTH THE MITCHELL-HEDGES

AND BRITISH MUSEUM SKULLS

WERE CARVED USING MOTORIZED TOOLS,

WHICH ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS DIDN'T POSSESS.

THERE IS ALSO FURTHER SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

PUBLISHED IN 2008.

USING RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY,

THE BRITISH MUSEUM SKULL'S CHEMICAL PROPERTIES WERE TESTED.

WHEN THE QUARTZ FROM WHICH THE SKULL WAS CARVED

ORIGINALLY CRYSTALLIZED MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,

TINY AMOUNTS OF MINERALS BECAME TRAPPED INSIDE,

PROVIDING A TELLTALE FINGERPRINT

OF THE ORIGINAL GEOLOGICAL SOURCE.

THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE QUARTZ

FROM WHICH THE SKULL IS MADE SUGGESTS

THAT THE RAW MATERIAL CAME FROM EITHER BRAZIL OR MADAGASCAR.

AND FRANKLY, NEITHER OF THOSE TWO PLACES

WERE ANYWHERE NEAR THE MAYAN EMPIRE,

AND IT'S UNLIKELY THAT THE MAYANS HAD ANYWHERE

LIKE THAT KIND OF REACH.

Narrator: SO IF THE ROCK USED TO MAKE THE BRITISH MUSEUM SKULL

WAS MINED IN BRAZIL OR MADAGASCAR,

WHERE WAS THE SKULL CARVED?

A POSSIBLE CLUE IS THAT IN THE 19th CENTURY,

A LARGE AMOUNT OF BRAZILIAN QUARTZ

WAS SHIPPED TO THE GERMAN TOWN OF IDAR-OBERSTEIN,

ONE OF EUROPE'S LEADING CENTERS OF CRYSTAL CARVING.

PATRICK DREHER, WHOSE FAMILY HAS BEEN CARVING CRYSTAL

IN IDAR-OBERSTEIN FOR CENTURIES,

BELIEVES IT'S LIKELY THAT THE BRITISH MUSEUM SKULL

WAS CARVED THERE.

AND THAT OTHER SUPPOSEDLY

ANCIENT MESOAMERICAN CRYSTAL SKULLS WERE, TOO.

Narrator: IF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS WERE CARVED IN IDAR-OBERSTEIN

IN THE 19th CENTURY, WHO PAID FOR THEM TO BE MADE?

THE BRITISH MUSEUM SKULL WAS ORIGINALLY BOUGHT

FROM A COLORFUL FRENCH ANTIQUITIES

DEALER NAMED EUGèNE BOBAN,

AND PATRICK BELIEVES BOBAN MAY HAVE COMMISSIONED

MANY OF THE SKULLS TO BE MADE IN IDAR-OBERSTEIN.

Nickell: EUGèNE BOBAN SOLD SOME CRYSTAL SKULLS.

HE SOLD THEM FOR PROFIT

AND ENDS UP HAVING HELPED CREATE AN ENDURING MYSTERY.

Narrator: THE BRITISH MUSEUM NOW ACCEPTS

THAT THEIR CRYSTAL SKULL ISN'T GENUINELY ANCIENT

AND MAY WELL HAVE BEEN CARVED FOR EUGèNE BOBAN

IN IDAR-OBERSTEIN IN THE 19th CENTURY.

BUT BELIEVERS IN THE CRYSTAL SKULL'S

EXTRAORDINARY OTHER WORLDLY POWERS

REMAIN UNCONVINCED BY SKEPTICS' DOUBTS.

Moser: YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN TRUTH,

AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE TRUTH IS ABSOLUTE.

I BELIEVE THAT WE EACH HAVE OUR OWN TRUTH.

THE FACT IS THAT IT WORKS ON PEOPLE'S HEARTS

AND OPENS THEM UP AND GIVES THEM A FEELING OF HOPE.

I THINK IT'S REALLY A GOOD THING.

AND THAT'S WHY I WORK AND BRING IT AROUND

SO PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE THIS.

WHETHER WE BELIEVE THE LEGENDS OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS OR NOT,

WE'RE FASCINATED BY THE FACT THAT IT JUST MIGHT BE TRUE.

HOWEVER, NOW WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE TRUTH MAY NOT BE

AS ROMANTIC OR AS ADVENTUROUS AS WE WERE LED TO BELIEVE.

Narrator: EVEN THOUGH SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SUGGESTS

THE CRYSTAL SKULLS ARE MODERN FAKES,

BELIEVERS REMAIN CONVINCED

THAT THE SKULLS HAVE ANCIENT SUPERNATURAL POWERS.

IT SEEMS INEVITABLE THAT PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO BELIEVE

WHAT THEY WANT TO BELIEVE.

SOME PEOPLE REALLY DO FEEL AFFECTED

BY THEIR REPUTED POWERS.

SO WHATEVER THE TRUTH IS,

THE LEGENDARY CRYSTAL SKULLS WILL SURELY LONG BE TREASURED.

*