Request for the Reburial of Ancestral Human Remains at Avebury, Wiltshire (2008)

This article considers the histories and meanings of Indigenous human remains in UK museum collections within the shifting ethics of museology.

BAR Publishing, 2021

This book examines the sometimes fraught interactions and relationships between contemporary Pagan groups and archaeological heritage managers in the first decade and a half of the 21st century. It uses ethnographic field research, conducted by the author between 2008 and 2013, and literature analysis to analyse those interactions. The two key areas examined are access to, interpretation of and preservation of ancient sites, and the archaeological examination, storage and display or reburial of ancient human remains. The book includes a detailed analysis of the reasons presented in the discourse of contestation and the underlying attitudes behind the issues. It concludes with some thoughts on how heritage managers and archaeologists may better manage their interactions with the Pagan community in the future.

Channel Tunnel Rail Link, London and Continental Railways, Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, CTRL Specialist Report Series, 2006

Front cover: Detail of a mummy of a Greek youth named Artemidorus in a cartonnage body-case, 2nd century ad. British Museum, London (EA 21810) Printed and bound in the UK by 4edge Ltd, Hockley Papers used in this book by The British Museum Press are of FSC Mixed Credit, elemental chlorine free (ECF) fibre sourced from well-managed forests All British Museum images illustrated in this book are © The Trustees of the British Museum Further information about the Museum and its collection can be found at britishmuseum.org Preface v Preface | v Human remains in museum collections can be a charged focus amidst the contested debates surrounding the legacies of colonialism and empire, the different purposes of a museum's existence and the changing understanding of the human body. The assumed primacy of western scientific research over the concerns of indigenous populations has also been a point of contention. This collection of essays offers a particular set of perspectives on these issues as seen through the lens of one major international museum. The aim of the book is to show that there are many more aspects to the collections of human remains in museums than just issues of repatriation and display. The authors are predominantly British Museum staff or those who have engaged in different ways with the human remains in the British Museum's care. None of the authors would claim that the collection seeks to offer a definitive account of the complex and broad range of questions that surround the care, display and research of human remains in museum collections, nor would they wish this volume to be read as an official statement of the British Museum's position on these subjects. While many of the authors are employed by the British Museum, this does not mean that they share the same opinions on issues such as the repatriation, display, care or research of human remains in the collection. The motivation for publishing this book is to emphasize that for a museum of any size, it is impossible to separate out issues of repatriation or display from those of conservation, documentation and research in relation to human remains. The contributors to this volume seek to cover as far as possible the breadth of concerns related to the care of human remains. To hold a collection of any kind in trust for future generations, particularly one that includes human remains, means that those responsible for them have to consider all aspects of what that duty of care entails. Across three sections discussing the holding, conserving and researching of human remains, the chapters cover both practical and ethical issues from the relative humidity levels required for the storage of human remains to the use and publication of images. The book also reviews the claims that the British Museum's Trustees have considered in relation to the de-accession and return of some human remains in the collection. Many of the chapters highlight particular case studies that focus on one group of human remains or even the remains of one individual, such as Lindow Man. A number of authors discuss the processes and results of some areas of research on human remains in the collection, stressing the active contribution that such remains have in furthering our understanding of past societies, even if they have been in the museum's care for many years. This book is one outcome of a continuing process of reflection and discussion concerning how the British Museum should look after the human remains in its collection. The British Museum has held human remains since its foundation in 1753 when the original museum contained biological and geological materials alongside artefacts, books, prints and drawings. In the 19th century, many of the human remains in the British Museum passed into the care of the Natural History Museum which was created out of the biological and geological collections of the by changes in legislation and governmental guidance. However, most of the developments reflect how attitudes, practices and policies have been altered by Trustees and staff following movements and debates in the fields of museum studies, archaeology and physical anthropology, in addition to the larger shifts in public attitudes to death and the display of human remains. As discussed in several chapters, the British Museum's care of human remains falls within the legislative framework of the Human Tissue Act 2004 and the British Museum Act 1963 and is led by guidance issued by the UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport. These policies in particular instruct how the Museum can act when human remains are subject to repatriation requests or how the Museum should care for human remains less than 100 years old. However, wider aspects of the care of human remains have developed out of in-depth discussions with staff across the Museum over the last ten years. One result of this consultation process was a review of all the human remains on display in the Museum and an evaluation of what in practice was meant by displaying human remains with care and respect. As a consequence of this review, it was agreed that some human remains should be removed from display. These discussions have also resulted in the creation of the British Museum Policy on Human Remains, which offers guidance on all aspects of the care, conservation, documentation and study of the human remains in the British Museum collection. These changes reflect how in practice each generation of British Museum Trustees and staff seek to understand what it means for a museum to care for a collection that includes human remains 'in trust': in trust not for the present, but for the future. original British Museum. The human remains in the Museum's care today are relatively few in comparison to the overall size of the collection. While skeletons, cremated remains and mummies from archaeological investigations form a significant proportion of the collection, there is a relatively large number of objects from the last 200 years made in part or, more rarely, in whole from human hair, teeth or bone. The diversity of the range of human remains within the Museum's care is the key challenge in the curation, display and research of the collection. For example, different forms of human remains require different methods of storage and handling. The variety of the collection is a product of the cultures, both ancient and recent, from which they originate with different attitudes to death, human remains and mortuary practices. This divergence is also reflected in the variation of ways in which the human remains have arrived at the Museum. A significant proportion of the archaeological collections were excavated in the course of Museum projects over the last 30 years, but other remains, including many of the mummies, arrived at the Museum through gift or purchase in the 19th and 20th centuries. This also incorporates a large number of the most recent examples of human remains in the collection, and close research of the specific circumstances through which these human remains were collected often reveal complex and nuanced relationships and circumstances of their original gift or collection, before subsequently coming to the Museum at a later date. There have been significant changes in the last 20 years as to how the British Museum cares for, displays and researches human remains, some of which have been driven vi | Regarding the Dead Holding and Displaying Human Remains | 1 Part 1 from the Fourth Nile Cataract region. The Jebel Sahaba material was excavated nearly 50 years ago and ongoing work, including application of previously unavailable methods such as radiocarbon dating of the apatite fraction of bone, illustrate the fact that old collections continue to yield new data. CT scanning is increasing the knowledge that can be gained through the non-invasive study of mummified remains. Gebelein Man, a naturally desiccated pre-Dynastic mummy, has been in the Museum collection for over 100 years, but it was only with the recent application of high-resolution CT scanning that the likely cause of death, a penetrating wound to the back, was identified. This research directly informs the visitor experience. The mummified remains, which are displayed in the public galleries, can be autopsied virtually by visitors using a touch screen, allowing the visualization of preserved internal organs. The chapters in this section vividly illustrate why it is important to retain long-term collections of human remains in museums for both research and display purposes. Many research techniques involve the destruction of small samples of tissue, and even when remains are examined using non-destructive techniques, handling damage accumulates over time. Therefore, there is tension between the ethical requirement to preserve collections in ways which safeguard them for future generations and an imperative to allow them to be used to generate new knowledge. This tension lies at the heart of the decision-making process concerning requests for research access to human remains. A further issue, the value of human remains for enthusing and informing visitors about the past versus the need to treat remains with sensitivity and respect, lies at the heart of decisions concerning the display of human remains. This section illustrates the dilemmas that these considerations pose. It also reminds us of the importance of museums retaining expert scientific staff who are actively engaged in research. This not only helps to ensure the best curatorial decision-making concerning research access to collections, but also that displays in public galleries communicate results of research to museum visitors in an appropriate and engaging way. Joy also provides a brief review of display issues connected with other bog bodies. When Tollund Man was recovered in Denmark in 1950, the National Museum of Denmark initially felt that the body might be too 'macabre' for public...