A skull cup is a drinking vessel or eating bowl made from an inverted human calvaria that has been cut away from the rest of the skull. The use of a human skull as a drinking cup in ritual use or as a trophy is reported in numerous sources throughout history and among various peoples, and among Western cultures is most often associated with the historically nomadic cultures of the Eurasian Steppe.
The skull cup from Gough's Cave
Hindu deity Bhairava with a kapala (skull cup) in his hand
Bulgarian Khan Krum the Fearsome feasts with his nobles as a servant (right) brings the skull of Nikephoros I, fashioned into a drinking cup, full of wine.
Sebastian Münster Cosmographia (Basel, 1550) page 193, concerning Lombards and imaginatively illustrating the notorious skull cup
Gough's Cave is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is 115 m (377 ft) deep and is 3.405 km (2.12 mi) long,
and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground river system in Britain.
Stalagmites and stalactites in Gough's cave
Skull that potentially shows signs of cannibalism
Skull of Gough's Cave
The entrance to Gough's Cave
