Found in Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah), in Ancient Babylonia it dates from the 9th century BC. Picture 4: Relief image on the Tablet of Shamash, British Library room 55. In Tibetan and Nepalese culture deities such as Kurukulla, also wear skull necklaces. The symbol is found in other ancient cultures, too: in the Indian culture, Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali wear a garland of skulls and bones in their severe forms. But the fact is, that an identical symbol to the Chi-Rho has been found inscribed on rocks dating from 2,500 BC Sumeria, and was interpreted as “a combination of the two Sun-symbols”. Other historians claim that the symbol can be found hundreds if not thousands of years before Christianity and was therefore usurped by them. The second half of the 12th century, the Augustine convent of Montréjeau (Haute-Garonne, France). When this monogram was placed on a tombstone, it meant a Christian was buried there. There is no common agreement what is the origin of this symbol - the Christians claim that the Chi-Rho is the monogram of Christ, as X and P are the first two letters of the Greek word "Christòs" or Christ. Some authors argue that the origin of the Skull and Crossbones can be even older as old as the symbol which is now commonly known as the Chi-Rho - so-called because it is composed of the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P). Picture 2: Bronze statue of Osiris, the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Picture 1: Coffin of King Tutankhamun, 1341-1323 BC. We have in mind the coffin of King Tutankhamun, holding Crook & Flail crossed on his chest - sacred emblems of Osiris, the god of the afterlife, whom the King becomes after death. The symbol's origin is not clear, but it is believed that it was first depicted a few thousand years back in ancient Egypt, and you definitely have seen it before. However, with the origins tracing back thousands of years, from Egypt to Nepal, used by various religions, usurped by early Christianity, but at the same time used on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, woven into legends about kings and knights, used as interior decoration, as a sign to warn about the danger, and the item to evoke spiritual energies, seen in pop culture, arts, music, military, and sports, the macabre motif of Skull and Crossbones seems to be one of the most multifaceted of all symbols when it comes to its history. Sailors (together with representatives of other occupations) mostly associate a symbol of Skull and Crossbones with the Jolly Roger, the flag which pirates would fly to identify their ships.
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