Outlander Season 4: What does the skull with fillings mean?

The Outlander Season 4 promo brought up an intriguing plot point. Claire finds a skull with silver filings. What does this mean?

In the Outlander Season 4 promo, Claire turns detective again. She calls out to Jamie after picking up a skull, which has silver filings. Something, she says, will not be invented for another 100 years. This instantly brings to mind that there will be time travelers–others than those we already know come through.

While most of these types of posts contain spoilers, this isn’t going to. There’s nothing from “Drums of Autumn” and it’s pure speculation for those who haven’t read the books and because the storyline may adapt slightly.

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The obvious answer is that there are more time travelers. This could certainly link to another set of standing stones in North Carolina (and maybe many more around the world). Whether the person the skull belongs to or not is another question. Nor is it clear if it’s some sort of warning. Why would anyone want to come from the future to leave behind that sort of warning for Claire?

Remember Geillis believed a sacrifice was needed to get through the stones. Others could think the same. It’s possible this was the sacrifice by whoever decided to pass through the stones. It’s not really a warning, but more of a clue that there are many more time travelers out there. That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since it’s clear there is a genetic link.

This isn’t a recently killed person. It takes eight to 12 years for a body to decompose fully, according to Memorial Pages. That’s without a coffin and when the body hasn’t been embalmed, which would match the circumstances of this particular skull Claire found.

As with Geillis bones turning up on Joe’s desk in 1968, it’s clear that this skull is going to be a hint of what’s happened in the past but also of things to come for Claire. Does this mean she’ll go time traveling back? She doesn’t’ seem to have had the same connection to these bones as she did with Geillis’ bones. Maybe it just means that someone else will go back about 10 years earlier to face whoever this time traveler is.

What do you think the skull means in the Outlander Season 4 promo? What do you think is still to come? Share in the comments below.

Outlander Season 4 will premiere in November on Starz.