In the years following its construction, many skulls fell out from the tower walls, some were taken away for burial by relatives thinking they could identify the skulls of their deceased family members, and some were taken by souvenir hunters.[12] Midhat Pasha, the last Ottoman governor of Niš, ordered that Skull Tower be dismantled in 1861.[8] He realized that the structure no longer served as an effective means of discouraging potential rebels and only fostered resentment against the Ottomans, reminding locals of the empire's past cruelty.[13] During the dismantling, the remaining skulls were removed from the tower.[8]