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)

In this Monday, March 10, 2014 photo, a 9,000 year-old mask is on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The exhibition called “Face To Face” shows eleven stone masks, said to have been discovered in the Judean desert and hills near Jerusalem, which date back 9,000 years and offer a rare glimpse at some of civilization's first communal rituals. (Photo by Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo)

An Iraqi youth shows-off his balancing skills as he performs stunts on a motorbike, on the bank of the Shatt Al-Arab river at sunset, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

This photo taken on December 9, 2024 shows artist Hong Jinshi looking at a sculpture of US president-elect Donald Trump in a pose evoking the Buddha at his workshop in Xiamen, in southeastern China's Fujian province. Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman's workshop in rural China, the US president-elect sits in divine contemplation. (Photo by Jade Gao/AFP Photo)

Model Bella Hadid poses for photographers at the photo call for the film “Pain and Glory” at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2019. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP Photo)

A police officer wields his baton against a man as a punishment for defied curfew due to rise of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Nagaon District of Assam, India on May 16, 2021. (Photo by Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

People walk past an illuminated lantern for the upcoming Year of the Rabbit during Seoul Lantern Festival at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul on December 19, 2022. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je/AFP Photo)

A trained monkey rides a toy cycle during a Topeng Monyet (Monkey Mask) show at a densely populated area in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 18, 2024. (Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters)