Shock while climbing a rock face Climbers suddenly find two skulls in Solothurn

A climbing group has discovered two human skulls on a trip in Solothurn. The find is unusual, says a forensic scientist.

A climbing group recently made an unusual discovery on the Hofstetterköpfli in Hofstetten-Flüh SO. Instead of spending a day on the rock as planned, they came across two human skulls stuck in a rock face, as SRF reports.

"I was a little shocked and briefly afraid of who might have placed the skulls there," one of the climbers told SRF about the unexpected discovery. The group immediately alerted the police, who recovered the skulls as well as a lower jaw and a sacrum from the rock.

A forensic scientist examined the bones and described the discovery as unusual, as human remains in the middle of the forest are rare. Interestingly, human remains were already discovered near the Hofstetterköpfli in 2018. However, according to the investigation, the two finds are not connected.

Archaeology takes over

It is assumed that the skulls belong to a man and a woman, possibly from a crypt. One skull shows signs of weathering, which could indicate that it has been lying there for a long time. However, it remains unclear who the people were and how the remains ended up in the rock.

In order to shed light on the matter, the cantonal archaeologists are now carrying out further investigations. The aim is to find out whether the bones may have come from an excavation or belong to another site.