Ribble Valley skulls: The Harris reveals an ancient mystery

Victorian researchers speculated that the 23 human skulls belonged to Bronze Age people who had lived beside the Ribble, but later research has shown the remains came from a much wider period.

A study using radiocarbon dating found that the skulls came from different periods, from the Neolithic to the early medieval period

Researchers concluded that the skulls may have entered the River Ribble at different times before being carried downstream and deposited where the water slowed.

For decades, little was known about who the skulls belonged to or when they had lived.

More recent research by the University of Lancashire and Liverpool John Moores University, using carbon dating, revealed that the remains came from a period spanning 3800 BC to 1000 AD.

“I wanted to find out more about them,” said Emma Heslewood, who was museum curator at The Harris between 2000 and 2014.

The oldest male discovery was a skull dating back to 3520-3330 BC. He would have been about 40 years old when he died.

Another, belonging to a woman, has been dated to 3820–3640 BC.