Skeletons found in Roopkund Lake in Uttarakhand have this to say

Uttarakhand : In the scaling mountain ranges of Himalayas, Roopkund lake in Uttarakhand is surrounded with a mysterious fact of human skeletons scattered in and around the lake, found by a forester in early 1940s.

Located at a height of 5000 ft from the sea level, the Roopkund lake has remained the subject of study for several researchers. Some studies claimed at the initial stage that the skeletons belong to Indians who died in the eighth century.

But according to a new study by an international team of scientists has only deepened the mystery surrounding the icy lake. In the research, skeletons are believed to be of eastern Mediterranean people travelled to the site around the 17th century and could have settled in the surroundings.

There are other theories too about the skeletons. Some claim that they belong to Japanese soldiers who had died during the fight of World War 2. Nonetheless, one thing is for sure: the area has a more complex history than previously thought.

“Our findings, based on DNA analysis of samples collected from hundreds of skeletons at the lake, not only confirm the presence of Indian tribe who died of a catastrophe in the 8th century but also show the presence of a densely populated colony of Mediterranean population up there in the 17th century. The latter was not known to the world, so far,” said Niraj Rai, a senior scientist and group head of the ancient DNA lab of BSIP.

He said the team also concluded that the lake and its surroundings were subjected to catastrophic events twice, which must have led to “massive causalities”.

“This must have resulted in the accumulation of skeletons in bulk at the Roopkund lake,” said Rai.