Archaeology may not be the swashbuckling, adventurous endeavor that the Indiana Jones franchise would have us believe, but it can have its spooky moments. Sure, archaeologists don't usually get into bar fights with Nazis over ancient relics, but they do have to deal with a lot of skeletons. Piecing together the lives and deaths of those who lived thousands of years ago is an important part of the job, and every once in a while, they come across an ancient death with disturbingly dark story. Here are a few of the weirdest archaeological finds of all time. Egyptian Pits of Severed Hands In the ancient city of Avaris, researchers found evidence of a brutal practice that, well, got a little out of hand. Apparently, the Hyksos people, who ruled there around 3,600 years ago, were in the habit of removing the hands of their vanquished foes in order to count them. How do we know that they did this? Well, evidence found in 2012 came in the form of an ancient pit full of hands.

The Headless Vikings

In 2009, a mass grave of 51 Viking warriors from the first and second centuries A.D. was discovered in England. It is believed that the Vikings were executed by Anglo-Saxons after traveling from far-flung nations. Why were they there? No one really knows for sure.

Colorado Genocide

Sacred Ridge is an archaeological site located eight miles from Durango, Colorado, and it was home to the early Anasazi people. At first glance, the site looked innocent to researchers. But below two ancient housing structures, they found something wretched — nearly 14,882 human bone fragments, all of which showed evidence of mutilation. Scientists believe that these remnants belonged to people of a different ethnic group, which suggests that they fell victim to genocide.