The mystery of the pierced skull of Rennes-Le-Château - which was allegedly discovered by Sauniere under the dalle des chevaliers stone in his church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine - might finally be solved! Although Sauniere is said to have replaced the skull back where he found it - 5 researchers from the Société d'études scientifiques de l'Aude re-discovered the skull. Under the auspices of Dr André Malacan, they excavated the subsoil of the church at a depth of approximately one metre, discovered some bones that included a skull bearing an incision. Dr Malacan died in 1997 and the skull remained in the possession of his family. The grandson of Malacan eventually returned the skull to Rennes-le-Chäteau – following legal wranglings since April 2013 – the story was covered in L'Indépendant (31 May 2010) and in La Dépêche du Midi (19 May 2010, 4 June 2010, 30 June 2014). The aim was to have the skull Radio-Carbon dated.