Hull & East Riding Museum

Posted August 26th, 2008 by phl.costelloe
Location: 
c/o Ferens Art Gallery
Location: 
Queen Victoria Square
Location: 
Hull
Location: 
HU1 3RA
Telephone: 
01482 616442
Funding Organisation: 
Local authority - Hull City Council. (The Hull and East Riding Museum is one of eight museums which make up Hull Museums.)
YLM Questionnaire Completed: 
Yes
Comment: 
Disposal Policy: 
No
HR On Display: 
Yes
HR Count: 
1000
HR Count Pre-Christian: 
800
Iconic HR: 
Yes
How many human remains are in its collection, and how many of those are of ancient British provenance: 
About 1000 (a major programme of documentation is still underway), including fragmentary remains and part skeletons. All, except two Egyptian mummies, are from British contexts, with an estimated 80% being pre-Christian. Some burials (e.g. from Romano-British or early Medieval sites) cannot be firmly attributed to ‘pagan’ or Christian religions.
How many of these human remains are well documented, with clear context of date and place of exhumation?: 
99% are from properly recorded excavations and have precise findspots and stratigraphic information.
Where there are human remains in store, is there a history of use?: 
Yes, we keep detailed records of researcher projects
Where there are human remains in store, is there potential for use, in display, education or scientific analysis?: 
Yes, but with careful thought in regard to ethical, as well as curatorial reasons.
Does the museum have a disposal policy, and is it including HR with negligible potential in its discussions about disposal?: 
The museums service does have a disposal policy but human remains are not included in it.
What sources of information about these human remains are in the public domain and where?: 
A major documentation project of the archaeological collections is on-going. The database is available on the museums collections website, with new records being added all the time.
Are any of these remains currently on display and in what context?: 
One complete Bronze Age inhumation, displayed ‘as excavated’ with original grave goods, in the Prehistoric Gallery. One complete Iron Age unaccompanied skeleton, displayed ‘as excavated’ in an enclosed, recessed case, in the ‘Celtic World’ Gallery.
Does the museum hold any iconic HR, i.e. figures of local or national importance, and are these on display?: 
The museum holds the Iron Age chariot burials from Garton and Wetwang Slack but the human remains are not on display. Although, I believe, one burial used to be on display together with grave goods, the gallery now features a reconstruction of the people in life.