France, Aug. 26 -- France on Tuesday returned three skulls to Madagascar, including one believed to be a king who was beheaded by French troops following a massacre in August 1897.

"These skulls entered the national collections in circumstances that clearly violated human dignity and in a context of colonial violence," said French Culture Minister Rachida Dati at a ceremony to send the relics home.

Her Madagascan counterpart, Volamiranty Donna Mara, described the return of the skulls as an "immensely significant" gesture.

"Their absence has been for more than a century an open wound in the heart of our island,"Mara added.

Scientists confirmed the skulls were from the Sakalava people in western Madagascar. They said one was most likely...