A relic hunter dubbed “Indiana Bones” has lifted the lid on a macabre collection of 400-year-old jewel-encrusted skeletons unearthed in churches across Europe. Art historian Paul Koudounaris has hunted down and photographed dozens of gruesome skeletons in some of the world's most secretive religious establishments. Photo: Albertus in the church of St George in Burgrain, Germany. Incredibly, some of the skeletons, which took up to five years to decorate, were even found hidden away in lock-ups and containers. (Photo by Paul Koudounaris/BNPS)

The Empire State Building towers over the Manhattan skyline as tourists gather on the observation deck of Rockefeller Center on February 13, 2012 in New York City. The owner of the Empire State Building, Malkin Holdings, plans to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering on the 102 story Manhattan landmark. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Miss Utah Krissia Beatty competes in the swimsuit competition during the first night of preliminaries of Miss America at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 8, 2015. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)

(2nd from R) Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell reacts to advancing, en route to victory, at the Miss America Pageant at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 13, 2015. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)

Miss Ohio Mackenzie Bart displays her shoe during the Miss America Shoe Parade at the Atlantic City boardwalk, Saturday, September 13, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J. (Photo by Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

A car passes through an area of the boardwalk hit by strong waves in Havana, Cuba, 05 February 2024. The Cuban Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) recorded strong gusts of wind of up to 104 kilometers per hour and strong waves in the west of the island due to a cold front associated with an “extratropical low”. (Photo by Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA)

American actor and musician Jared Leto climbs The Empire State Building on November 08, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)

“The Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856) was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, but there were smaller campaigns in western Anatolia, Caucasus, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A vivandiere, a female soldier selling provisions and spirits, with the Allied forces during the Crimean War. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)