Mitchell-Hedges Skull

Perhaps the most famous and enigmatic crystal skull was allegedly discovered in 1924 by Anna Le Guillon Mitchell-Hedges, adopted daughter of British adventurer and popularist author F.A. Mitchell-Hedges. It has been noted upon examination by Smithsonian researchers to be "very nearly a replica of the British Museum skull--almost exactly the same shape, but with more detailed modeling of the eyes and the teeth."

Discovery
Mitchell-Hedges claimed that she found the skull buried under a collapsed altar inside a temple in Lubaantun, in British Honduras, now Belize. As far as can be ascertained, F.A. Mitchell-Hedges himself made no mention of the alleged discovery in any of his writings on Lubaantun.

Also, others present at the time of the excavation have not been documented as noting either the skull's discovery or Anna's presence at the dig.

Questionable Mayan Link
In a 1970 letter, Anna also stated that she was "told by the few remaining Maya that the skull was used by the high priest to will death." For this reason, the artifact is sometimes referred to as "The Skull of Doom". An alternative explanation is a play on 'Skull of Dunn' (Dunn being an associate of Mitchell-Hedges).

Anna Mitchell-Hedges toured with the skull from 1967 exhibiting it on a pay-per-view basis, and she continued to give interviews about the artifact until her death in 2007.

Composition
The skull is made from a block of clear quartz about the size of a small human cranium, measuring 5 inches (13 cm) high, 7 inches (18 cm) long and 5 inches wide. The lower jaw is detached.

In the early 1970s it came under the temporary care of freelance art restorer Frank Dorland, who claimed upon inspecting it that it had been "carved" with total disregard to the natural crystal axes without the use of metal tools. Dorland reported being unable to find any tell-tale scratch marks, except for traces of mechanical grinding on the teeth, and he speculated that it was first chiseled into rough form, probably using diamonds, and the finer shaping, grinding and polishing was achieved through the use of sand over a period of 150 to 300 years. He said it could be up to 12,000 years old.

Recorded History
The earliest published reference to the skull is the July 1936 issue of the British anthropological journal Man, where it is described as being in the possession of Sydney Burney, a London art dealer who is said to have owned it since 1933. No mention was made of Mitchell-Hedges. There is documentary evidence that Mitchell-Hedges bought it from Burney in 1944. The skull was in the custody of Anna Mitchell-Hedges, who steadfastly refused to let it be examined by experts.

Paranormal Claims
Although various claims have been made over the years regarding the skull's physical properties, such as an allegedly constant temperature of 70° F (21° C), Dorland reported that there was no difference in properties between it and other natural quartz crystals.