 Most people are aware of the crystal skulls, the best of which hidden away within the Smithsonian. Perfectly carved from solid pieces of crystal, their origins, purpose, or indeed possible function remain a mystery. What many are not aware of, however, is the astonishing archaeological discoveries which have recently been made in Spain. A remarkable set of crystal weapons found within megalithic tombs at a site known as Valencina de la Concepci. Archaeologists investigating this site have uncovered a vast array of crystal arrowheads, an exquisite crystal dagger blade along with a number of other artifacts. Found within an enormous megalithic structure constructed out of large slabs of slate, the resting place of at least 25 once clearly very important individuals, along with their extraordinary smorgasbord of grave goods. Included within the finds was another mystifying number of shrouds, claws made of tens of thousands of perforated amber beads. Just how they managed to fashion these mysterious crystal weapons remains unclear. A number of investigators have remarked that great skill must have been required to produce these unique rock crystal weapons. The rock crystal dagger blade in particular was found in the upper level of the structure. Its morphology is not unheard of in the Iberian Peninsula, although, however, all the samples recorded anywhere else were made from flint and not crystal. Furthermore, and perhaps even more intriguing, is the fact that the crystal is of unknown origins. Detailed and thorough analysis being unable to successfully pinpoint the original whereabouts of this magnificent crystal. Given the technical skill and difficulties involved in creating the objects from such a material, rather than simple flint, their purpose and indeed manufacture has been a tough thing for academia to explain. However, it is unlikely that any funded academic would presume, like we can, that these highly advanced, perfectly manufactured weapons could in fact be far earlier artifacts, created by a civilization with far greater capabilities than those of known prehistory. Supporting this hypothesis is that despite these objects being found relatively frequently within the burials of the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, crystal implements disappear from later funiary monuments within the early Bronze Age, a, quote, truly striking development, researchers say. As it would seem, the use of this raw material as grave goods was almost entirely abandoned, end quote. The reason for this remains a mystery. However, is it possible, as mentioned, that these were merely a discovered relic of a bygone era, thus making their availability limited? This would therefore make it appear as though there was a sudden halt in their mysterious and unexplained manufacture, while all the while, in reality, the manufacturing of these objects occurred at a different time in our history. Has ancient alien technology finally been discovered within Russia? According to several talented UFO enthusiasts, along with a number of scientists, that is exactly what has happened. A team from Princeton University in America and the University of Florence in Italy have discovered a, quote, quasi-crystal, so named because of its unorthodox arrangement of atoms, found within a meteorite from a remote region of northeastern Russia. This crystal long thought impossible to be formed naturally due to being too energetically unstable and atomically manipulated. When the team discovered that the meteorite contained this mysterious, ancient, intelligently designed material, they merely moved the goalposts, simply stating that it can indeed be formed naturally. Technically, scientists describe quasi-crystals as quasi-periodic, being manually ordered, no longer found on the periodic table. Although they exhibit a pattern that fills all available mass continuously, they lack what scientists and mathematicians term translational symmetry. Simply put, they are not naturally occurring materials. The meteorite in which it was found is believed to be around 4.5 billion years old, yet alas, when it picked up this perplexing and possibly alien passenger may remain unknown. UFO enthusiasts and scientists alike have previously hypothesized that evidence for alien life would, in all possibility, be found in a form such as this. Pointing out that quasi-crystals, being a novel form of matter, should actually be seen as artifacts of alien artificially created technology. No one has ever been able to explain how quasi-crystals can be formed by natural processes, and no one is ever likely to. It just does not happen. They're forbidden symmetry, making them impossible to be formed naturally. The only other known quasi-crystals, besides those found in the Chokotka meteorites, were only recently synthesized within laboratory conditions by scientists. Being very hard, with low friction characteristics, also a low heat conduction, quasi-crystals are a very useful product, used in a wide range of high-speed technologies, such as the coatings of airplanes and stealth fighters. Two-time Nobel Prize winner, Linus Pauling, the idol of the American Chemical Society, and one of the most famous scientists in the world, argued till his last days against quasi-periocity in crystals mere existence. He didn't even believe we would ever manage to create it. Does this sound like a naturally occurring material to you? How did this complex material end up on and within an ancient meteorite? Did this lump of space debris once collide with an alien craft, somewhere out there in deep space? It seems, regardless of what certain scientific bodies would have you presume, that is indeed the most likely scenario. The crystal skulls, a set of the world's most alluring artifacts, possessing the power to create religions, snaring many a Hollywood figure with their mysticism and rumored possible alien origins. Firstly, how does one tell a real crystal skull from a fake? There are always artists capable of making and selling things that seem old, says anthropologist Jane McLaren Walsh of the Smithsonian Museum. And she should know, Walsh has seen her share of fakes. In fact, she's probably seen more crystal skulls than anyone else alive, subsequently becoming the leading academic on the subject. A stern skeptic with a ruthless ethic, only the most puzzling will convince Jane. Another major player in the skull game, according to Walsh, was Frederick Arthur Mitchell Hedges, an English stockbroker turned adventurer, who in 1943 began displaying a skull at dinner parties which he called the Skull of Doom. His daughter Anna later claimed that he had found the skull in a ruined temple in Belize during the early 1920s. However, this was later found to have been a lie. Investigations by the Linnean Society of London, a research institute specializing in taxonomy and natural history, revealed that Mitchell Hedges actually purchased his skull at auction at Sotheby's in London in 1943. How it came to be at the auction house, however, was never established. Which is unfortunate, because the Mitchell Hedges skull, according to Walsh's scrupulous examination, is the only one she has ever had to reluctantly confirm as an authentic crystal skull. What's more, it is the only academically accepted original known within the public archives. Smaller than other examples, which under microscope analysis were seen to have been made using rotary drills, the Mitchell Hedges skull is a more finely crafted, yet more crudely designed example, that under the atomic microscope has shown signs of having indeed been an ancient pre-Columbian artifact, which sure enough was constructed using quote, unknown technology. There are of course many examples of crystal skulls around the world, and many more stories surrounding their mysterious construction. Elongated examples, stories of groups of these skulls initiating some form of energy field. Ancient laser cutting technology has also been claimed time and time again. However, we felt we would approach them from another angle, to experience the rare occasion when modern, specifically funded academic institutes buckle to overwhelming evidence, proofs given by the defeated skeptic to those who pursue nothing but the perplexing truth and a direction for study. Made from a single piece of quartz crystal, Mitchell's skull of doom is unquestionably an exquisite example of an unknown history here upon our planet. Regardless of beliefs, or indeed the superstitions which now surround them, there are a rare few which support the theory of lost civilization and ancient visitation.