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Stories
No. 011
What Happened to Mozart's Skull? The Salzburg Skull and the DNA Mystery
A skull attributed to Mozart is held by the Mozarteum in Salzburg. How it got there, why his grave was unmarked, what the 2006 DNA tests showed, and Haydn's skull.
No. 010
Saint Valentine's Skull
A flower-crowned skull in Rome's Santa Maria in Cosmedin is venerated as Saint Valentine's. Learn its story, who Valentine was, and where else his relics are kept.
No. 009
Skull Cups
Skull cups have a long documented history, from Gough's Cave 14,700 years ago to Scythian cups, the Tibetan kapala and Lord Byron's cup at Newstead Abbey.
No. 008
What Does a Skull Mean in Heraldry? Blazons, Arms and Flags
A skull has no fixed meaning in heraldry. See how heralds blazon skulls and death's heads, and real arms and flags from Tlaxcala, Spain, Scotland and Canada.
No. 007
The Skull Chapel in Czermna, Poland
The Skull Chapel in Czermna, Poland holds about 3,000 skulls and bones. Learn who built it, why Father Tomaszek gathered the dead and how it compares with Sedlec.
No. 006
The Jericho Plastered Skulls
The Jericho plastered skulls are Neolithic skulls with plaster faces and shell eyes, found by Kathleen Kenyon in 1953. Who made them, how, when and why.
No. 005
What Does the Skull Mean in Buddhism? Skull Symbolism in Buddhist Art
In Buddhism the skull points to impermanence and letting go. Learn why Tibetan deities wear skull crowns, what a kapala skull cup is, and what Ikkyū's Skeletons means.
No. 004
Citipati
The Citipati are the dancing skeleton pair of Tibetan Buddhism, the Lords of the Charnel Ground. Learn who they are, how to spot them, cham dances and the dinosaur named for them.
No. 003
Ma'Nene
Ma'Nene' is the Toraja ritual of cleaning and re-dressing ancestors in South Sulawesi. Learn what families do, when it happens, what tau tau are and how to visit respectfully.