Roopkund Lake holds remains from two death episodes about 1,000 years apart

August 09, 2026IndiaBioarchaeologyShare

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Key facts

• Roopkund Lake is in the Indian Himalayas and was rediscovered in 1942 by Indian forest ranger Hari Kishan Madhwal as melting ice exposed remains.
• Hundreds of skeletons were recovered with artifacts including iron arrowheads, fur slippers and wooden objects.
• The remains date to two broadly distinct periods: around 700–900 CE and the 1800s CE, roughly 1,000 years apart.
• The earlier group belonged to a genetic cluster now found mainly in West Asia and North Africa and showed no close affinity to modern South Asians, so it should not be described simply as indigenous to the region.
• Many skeletons show blunt-force head trauma, although the precise cause of death remains unresolved.
• Local folklore says pilgrims angered the gods and were killed by a sudden hailstorm.
• The 19th-century remains show Mediterranean ancestry associated with Greece, Crete and Turkey. One tested individual had Southeast Asian ancestry, which researchers suggested may indicate a guide or travel companion.

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