Aizawl, September 2, 2025: The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Mizoram Chapter, has confirmed the discovery of human skeletal remains believed to be more than 700 years old at Khawlek village in Saitual District.
Addressing the press at the Aizawl Press Club on Tuesday, INTACH Mizoram Convener, Pu Rin Sanga, IAS (Retd.), revealed that the remains were first discovered on January 11, 2025 by a local villager, Pu Laltlanhlua, inside a large underground cave-like chamber known as Thingkhuang Puk located between Vanbawng and Khawlek.
Following requests from Khawlek residents, INTACH, with support from the Art & Culture Department, carried out a detailed examination on May 2, 2025. The team confirmed the presence of nine human skulls along with several other skeletal remains.
To establish their antiquity, selected bone samples were sent to Beta Analytic Laboratory in Miami, Florida, USA for Carbon-14 dating. The results, Rin Sanga said, indicated that the remains dated back to between 1260 AD and 1320 AD, making them approximately 700 years old.
“These skeletal remains are not only significant for Mizoram’s cultural and historical research but also invaluable for understanding the ancestry, traditions, and life practices of our forebears,” Rin Sanga stated.
He further informed that INTACH plans to collaborate with experts to conduct DNA analysis of the remains, which could help identify the lineage and ethnic background of the people to whom they belonged.
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The discovery has generated widespread interest among historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists as it provides rare physical evidence of Mizoram’s ancient human settlements and cultural evolution.
