My faith in science ran parallel with my belief that the myriad Channellers, psychics and Sensitives would provide me with concrete answers. Neither did; and quite the contrary, it seemed as if each 'answer' merely opened-up a whole new set of questions.

For those who may be interested, tables and documents relating to the dry data derived from the analytical experiments can be viewed by clicking here (Link not yet active.) For everyone else I include the following summary; in plain English.

The skull weighs 5691.2g and has a volume of 2148 cubic centimeters. It is a fairly 'anatomically correct' interpretation of a human skull. Carved, by hand, against the natural grain, from a block of Grade I, optical quality quartz crystal (Silicon dioxide.) Most of its surface is polished to a standard comparable with that of a telescope lens. The back of its left eye-socket has sustained some damage and it was from this damage that many answers were obtained.

Quartz, like wood, has a natural grain. Anyone who has whittled a piece of wood with a penknife will be aware that whilst it is relatively easy to carve 'along the grain,' it is almost impossible to carve against it: The wood splits, splinters and flakes away. Skully has a curious intent carved into his forehead (slightly offset from center.) A straight line drawn from the skull's center to this indent runs precisely parallel with the natural grain of the quartz. This is extremely unlikely to be a coincidence. It is highly probable that the skull's carver was drawing our attention to the fact that he, or she, was not only skilled enough to carve such delicate features into the surface of a material notoriously difficult to work with; but that he/she was also clever enough to carve on the quartz's most difficult and demanding face.

Skully was created by a master carver, an apprentice and 2 or three assistants. Microscopic investigation of Skully's surface showed no trace of modern (steel and powered) tools. A range of small (less than 1cm wide) chisels were used to chip his features into shape. After this, a series of progressively finer abrasive pastes and finally running water were used to polish it. It is surmised that shortly before completion, Skully's original carver died. His clumsy apprentice hit too hard and caused the damage to Skully's left eye-socket. After this no further carving was undertaken and the roughly worked area was polished to the best of their ability.

This told us how Skully was created, but not when. Although it is not possible to date quartz, debris and fragments found with Skully were subjected to Carbon-14 dating techniques. From this material, key dates of: 375BC, 30AD, 400AD and 800AD were identified. The oldest fragments formed part of a small box used to house the few flakes of quartz from the damaged left eye. This box may have been created specifically to store these small pieces; in which case the skull pre-dates 375BC. Converesly, an already old box could have been adapted for the purpose at any point in time. As such, the question of Skully's age -as with the ages of all skulls- remains a hotly debated subject. Documentation traces Skully's history back only as far as 1800.

By far, the most extrordinary data originated from a hybrid of Science and the Supernatural. In August, 1998, I was contacted by a gentleman called Dr D. Ashman, a former radar specialist working for the Ministry of Defence. He was now retired and devoted his time and effort to the perfection of a device capable of rendering real-time Kirlian images. This effect was discovered in 1939 by Semyon Kirlian, who found that under certain conditions it was possible to photograph an 'aura' around living tissue. Four examples of this type of image are shown below.

Rose petal

Quartz crystal

Hand (X-ray)

Fingertip

Due to Copyright restrictions I am unable to divulge the precise mechanism of Dr Ashman's machine, other than to say that an extremely high voltage is passed through the specimen. Any emissions are detected and recorded by a variety of sensitive probes. When Skully was subjected to this process, the images we obtained were truly breathtaking. By altering the voltage applied it was possible to generate a series of complex and evolving energy patterns: Almost like playing a musical instrument.

In the first image can be seen a cross-section of energy bands radiating out from the Skully. These are of sufficient intensity to induce a sympathetic vibration in the metal plate on which the skull has been placed. At this time, the exact mechanism responsible for creating these frequency patterns and bands is unknown.

This image, a still taken from a videotape, shows pulses of light streaming from the nose whilst at the back of the head much longer streaks of light emanate in parallel lines which gradually converge. Due to limitations of the prototype Kirlian machine, the light bands can only be seen in black and white. This time, the metal base-plate is not affected.

This image, again a still taken from a videotape, shows two streams of pulses flowing from the nose and eyes. These converge and produce a pattern of staggering complexity and beauty. Everyone who has seen this video sequence agrees that it is simply the most hypnotic effect they have ever seen. A short sample of these video images can be seen by clicking here (Link not yet active.)

Shortly after these images were recorded, Dr Ashman's research assistant (Tim Rollins) stumbled upon something that was to have far-reaching consequences. As part of Skully's physical examination, a computer generated, 3-D wire-frame simulation was created from laser scan of his surface. This mapped-out his features extremely accurately. Whilst mulling over a printed copy of this 3-D simulation, Tim was struck by a singular coincidence that was -at last- to cast much light on an old legend long associated with the skulls.

It has often been said that the skulls are some species of ancient super-computer, containing vast amounts of priceless data and information. Unfortunately no one has yet been able to suggest how the computer may be turned on, or how the information may be accessed: Until now. (To be continued...)