Newport Museum and Art Gallery
Newport Museum and Art Gallery
John Frost Square
Newport
South Wales
NP20 1PA
01633656656
Website: https://www.newport.gov.uk/heritage/en/Museum-Art-Gallery
Parent Organisation:
Funded by:
Local Authority
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?:
There are 66 records on the database for ‘Human Remains’ (see attached spreadsheet). Of these, c.27 records represent pre-Christian human remains.
Total: 66
How many of these human remains are well documented, with clear context of date and place of exhumation?:
All of the human remains are provenanced and dated.
Where there are ancestors in store, is there a history of use?:
The remains are accessed for study. Most recently the Crick Institute analysed the remains of approx. 16 individuals for their Ancient Genome project.
Where there are ancestors in store, is there potential for use, in display, education or scientific analysis?
High
Does the museum have a disposal policy, and is it including HR with negligible potential in its discussions about disposal?:Yes
Newport Museum follows current Museum Sector guidance on ethical disposal. However, we are not considering disposing of any human remains in our care.
What sources of information about these human remains are in the public domain and where?:
Information regarding the human remains we curate is available on request. Many are published.
Does the museum have ancestors (human remains) on display?:Yes
There are human remains on display in our Roman displays discussing different burial practices in the Romano-British period, such as inhumation and cremation. Human remains are also displayed in our Prehistory displays with a focus on deposition in watery places.
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?:
Newport Museum curates a significant collection of human remains recovered from a cave in Ifton Quarry in 1906. The remains date to the late Neolithic and have been extensively studied.
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?:
In the past, we have asked members of the public and students from the University of South Wales if they want to see real human remains or replicas on display. The overwhelming response was that they wanted to see original remains provided that remains are respectfully displayed telling a story about our ancestors.
Documents:
https://www.honour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/formidable/2/YLM-Questionnaire-2022_NPTMG.doc, https://www.honour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/formidable/2/Human-remains-listing-NPTMG.xlsx
5 September, 2022
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