Our Gemara on amud aleph tells of the extreme fate of King Yehoyakim, who was singled out for a humiliating punishment that even extended to his corpse:
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avuya says: It was written on the skull of Yehoyakim, king of Judea: "This and yet another," indicating that he will suffer a punishment in addition to what he has already received. The Gemara relates: Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avuya, the grandfather of Rabbi Perida, found a skull cast at the gates of Jerusalem, upon which was written: "This and yet another." He buried it, but it emerged [navug] from beneath the soil. He buried it again, and it emerged once more. He said: "This is the skull of Yehoyakim, as it is written in his regard: 'With the burial of a donkey shall he be buried, drawn and cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem' (Jeremiah 22:19). He will find no rest in a grave."
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avuya continued: "He is a king, and it is not proper conduct to treat him contemptuously." He took the skull, wrapped it in silk [beshira'ei], and placed it in a chest [besifta]. His wife saw the skull, went out, and told her neighbors, asking them what it was. The neighbors said: "This is the skull of the first wife to whom he was married, as he has not forgotten her and keeps her skull in her memory." This angered his wife, who kindled the oven and burned the skull. When Rabbi Ḥiyya, son of Avuya, learned what had happened, he said: "This is the fulfillment of that which is written about him: 'This and yet another.' Having his remains cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem did not complete the punishment of Yehoyakim. He suffered the additional indignity of having his remains burned."
This is quite a story, and I believe there is more here than meets the eye. This story is a metaphor about the stubbornness of sin, perhaps particularly heresy (see Sanhedrin 103b regarding the bizarre heresy of King Yehoyakim). The repeated attempt to bury his skull, only for it to emerge again, shows the stubbornness of certain heretical thoughts or repetitive patterns of sin that linger in the mind (the skull). That his second wife became suspicious and jealous, fearing that the skull belonged to the first wife whom he still remembered, metaphorically suggests that even though there was some repentance and a casting off of idolatrous practices from the times of the Temple, intellectually there remains some residue of corrupted and defective ideas. This is represented in the jealousy of the second wife toward the first, meaning the post-exile state of the Jews who may have repented but still carry a nostalgic taint of heresy or idolatry.
We can laugh at the ridiculousness of outright idolatry, as the intellectual superiority of monotheism has largely been adopted by much of the civilized world. However, we still face our own heresies and subtle forms of idolatry. Living authentically and Jewishly, and identifying distorted and immoral assumptions and values, is an ongoing process in our development as God’s nation. This work is never fully complete, and we are constantly challenged and seduced by self-serving, defective values. This is why the skull keeps popping back up.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation 
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families as well male sexual health. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com