India’s lake of mystery: 1200-year-old lake in Uttarakhand has hundreds of skeletons. Scientists are still figuring out the reason

At first glance, this lake appears to be mysterious. But the serene lake is home to hundreds of skeleton. The Roopkund Lake, one of the major adventure attractions for people in the country, does indeed look surreal. Located in a snowy valley at the lap of the Himalayas, the lake is chock-full of skeletons! There were some theories floating around as to the identity of the hundreds of skeletons that were found there.

According to the BBC, one theory assumes this was a cemetery where victims of an epidemic were buried. Another explanation proposes that several of the skeletons belong to soldiers who took part in an unsuccessful military campaign into Tibet in 1841. After suffering defeat, over 70 soldiers were reportedly compelled to retreat across the treacherous Himalayan terrain. Unable to withstand the extreme weather, high altitudes, and harsh conditions during the journey back, they are believed to have perished along the route.

However, a 2019 study claimed that these were the remains of Mediterranean migrants; some of the remains were dated as far as 1200 years.


Researchers discovered that the individuals whose remains were found were not only genetically distinct from one another, but also lived and died across a span of nearly a thousand years. Even more remarkably, genetic analysis revealed that the deceased belonged to different ancestral groups.

One cluster shared genetic characteristics with modern populations from South Asia, while another showed close genetic links to present-day Europeans, especially people from the Greek island of Crete. These findings challenged earlier assumptions, demonstrating that the deaths did not result from a single disaster or one tragic event, but instead occurred during multiple periods over many centuries.

The lake is located in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand.

According to information published by National Geographic, the mystery of Uttarakhand's Roopkund Lake, often called Skeleton Lake, became even more puzzling after detailed genetic studies challenged long-held assumptions about the human remains found there. Earlier DNA research in the early 2000s suggested that the individuals who died at Roopkund were of South Asian ancestry and likely perished in a single event around 800 A.D. Radiocarbon dating appeared to support this theory.

However, the first comprehensive genomic analysis of 38 skeletal remains revealed a far more complex story. Researchers found that 23 individuals with South Asian ancestry died at the site between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D., possibly across multiple events rather than a single tragedy.

The study also uncovered a second, unexpected group. Fourteen individuals who died around 1800 were found to have genetic ancestry linked to the Mediterranean region, particularly Greece and Crete. Another individual from the same period had East Asian ancestry. None of the people examined was closely related, and isotopic analysis showed that the South Asian and Mediterranean groups followed distinctly different diets.

The discovery has left researchers with more questions than answers. Why a group of people with Mediterranean ancestry travelled to a remote Himalayan lake remains unknown. Study co-author Niraj Rai, an archaeogeneticist at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences in Lucknow, told National Geographic that despite investigating all possible sources of ancestry, researchers have been unable to explain why these Mediterranean individuals were at Roopkund or what brought them there.