Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery
Queen Street
Exeter
Devon
EX4 3RX
01392665858
Website: http://www.rammuseum.org.uk/
Additional web links: http://www.rammworldculturesonline.org/human-remains
Parent Organisation:
Funded by:
Exeter City Council
YLM Entry Submitted: Yes
Comments:
How many human remains are in its collection, and how many of those are of ancient British provenance, pre-Christian or in other way Pagan?:
The human remains in the museum’s care are laid out here … African (date uncertain) : 1; Egyptian (21-25 Dynasty) : 3; British Neolithic : 1; British Late Neolithic : 8 cremations; British Bronze Age : 6; British Roman : 10, plus 3 bags of cremated bone from other sites, and 5 sets of bone fragments (213 in total); British Post Roman : material from 6 graves; British Christian (Early Medieval) : 8 groups of articulated bone, and 5 boxes of redeposited unarticulated bone, both from one site; British of unknown period : 2. There are also 220 pieces of modern human remains held in the Natural History collection. These are over 100 years old so fall outside of the Human Tissue Act.
Total: 500
How many of these human remains are well documented, with clear context of date and place of exhumation?:
All but the modern specimens are well documented.
Where there are ancestors in store, is there a history of use?:
Yes.
Where there are ancestors in store, is there potential for use, in display, education or scientific analysis?
Yes.
Does the museum have a disposal policy, and is it including HR with negligible potential in its discussions about disposal?:Yes
Yes. There are no plans to dispose of any human remains in the collection.
What sources of information about these human remains are in the public domain and where?:
An introduction to the museum’s human remains holdings can be found on the website (see above) and further details are available on request.
Does the museum have ancestors (human remains) on display?:Yes
The museum is currently (Oct 2010) undergoing a major redevelopment and all of its display galleries are closed. When the galleries reopen, 1 Bronze Age cremation and 1 Egyptian mummy will be on display.
Does the museum hold any iconic ancestors, ie. complete skeletons with a well documented story, or those considered of national or local importance, and are these on display?:
The Egyptian mummy, of the Shep-En Mut, is considered iconic.
Has the museum used or considered using replicas in displays? If not, why not and what would you find useful in moving to these? If you have, what response did these receive?:
Documents:
http://www.rammworldculturesonline.org/human-remains
26 August, 2008
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