UCL Museums and Collections

Posted August 26th, 2008 by phl.costelloe
Location: 
University College London
Location: 
Gower Street
Location: 
London
Location: 
WC1E 6BT
Telephone: 
020 7679 2000
Museum Website: 
UCL Scoping Survey - April 2004
Funding Organisation: 
University funded
YLM Questionnaire Completed: 
Yes
Human Remains Policy: 
Yes
Comment: 

This Policy is comprehensive although it is clearly excessive in its content. The Policy is large and unwieldy, and filled with irrelevant information (some of it outdated). Although it does cover all the issues in detail it is difficult to understand. Like all of the policies on offer, the wording implies that any control is at the discretion of the museum.

HR Policy Link: 
Policy, Principles and Procedures for the Care and Treatment of Human Remains at UCL
Disposal Policy: 
Yes
HR On Display: 
Yes
HR Count: 
7000
Iconic HR: 
Yes
How many human remains are in its collection, and how many of those are of ancient British provenance: 
Approximately nearly 7000 human remains are held across UCL. In 2004, a scoping survey of pre-1948 human remains in UCL Museums and Collections was carried out. In this survey, objects that included human material were included in the audit. [Fossils and sub-fossils of humans were not included.] The survey covered departments across UCL, including Anatomy, Biological Anthropology, the Eastman Dental Institute, Ethnography, Grant Museum, Galton Collection, Histopathology, Institute of Archaeology, Petrie Museum and the Records Office. This survey found 735 human remains dating from before 1948. Of these, the majority of the remains are unprovenanced. 234 of the remains have an inferred but unverifiable provenance. Of the remains with an associated provenance, the majority are British but a significant number are non-European.
How many of these human remains are well documented, with clear context of date and place of exhumation?: 
Please see previous answer. 171 remains on the Human Remains register at UCL have a provenance of their origin, but this can vary widely a specific dig to a country (eg, Egypt).
Where there are human remains in store, is there a history of use?: 
UCL’s Human Remains policy states, “UCL holds human remains for the purposes of research, public and specialist education and the better understanding of humanity.”
Where there are human remains in store, is there potential for use, in display, education or scientific analysis?: 
See previous answer.
Does the museum have a disposal policy, and is it including HR with negligible potential in its discussions about disposal?: 
UCL’s policy on Human Remains states that all disposals are the responsibility of UCL’s Museum and Heritage Committee, under the delegated authority of UCL’s Council and under advice from the Director of UCL’s Museums & Collections. In Spring 2009, all of the current Acquisitions & Disposal policies of the MLA Registered museums at UCL (Petrie, Grant, Geology, Art) are being reviewed as part of the process of moving to Acreditation status.
What sources of information about these human remains are in the public domain and where?: 
Both the UCL policy on Human Remains and the 2004 Scoping Report are available on UCL Museums & Collections website.
Are any of these remains currently on display and in what context?: 
Human remains currently on display at UCL include the auto-icon of Jeremy Bentham, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Bentham-Project/info/jb.htm The auto-icon is displayed according to his own wishes as set out in his will in 1832. The Grant Museum displays a single human skeleton, which is unprovenanced. The Petrie Museum displays human remains, none of which are British.
Does the museum hold any iconic HR, i.e. figures of local or national importance, and are these on display?: 
Jeremy Bentham – please see previous answer.