Digging up bones - archaeology and the law
Listener's query
"When is it not ethical for archaeologists to dig up old bones? Is it to do with how long they've been in the ground or where they are buried? At what point do human remains lose their right to rest in peace?"
Brief summary
Making History consulted Dr Simon Mayes of English Heritage. He told the programme that the key question is where the excavation takes place. If human remains are excavated from disused burial grounds then normally it is secular law that determines what happens. If the remains are in burial grounds which are under Church of England jurisdiction, then both ecclesiastical and secular law will apply.
As to reburial, broadly speaking if human remains are excavated under Church law, when the Church gives permission it is normally stipulated that the bones are reburied in consecrated ground as near as possible to the place where they were excavated.
With a disused burial ground, if burials have been made in the last 50 years, and relatives or friends object to the disturbance of those bones, the development intended for the site cannot go ahead. There is no such clear time cut-off point when sites come under Church law. When the Church makes its decision about whether to allow the disturbance of remains, feelings of relatives and representatives are accorded strong weight. It is the ±«Óãtv Office which administers the excavations that come under secular law. If human remains are to be disturbed, the name of the file guides whoever is responsible for the excavation through the relevant laws.
Further reading
Simon Mayes, The Archaeology of Human Bones (Routledge, 1998)
Colin Renfrew, Loot, Legitimacy and Ownership: The Ethical Crisis in Archaeology (Gerald Duckworth & Co, 2000)
Andrew Chamberlain, Human Remains (British Museum Press, 1994)
Further information
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ
Tel: 01223 333516
Fax: 01223 333517
Website:
±«Óãtv Office
E Division, Room 978, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT
English Heritage, Centre for Archaeology
Fort Cumberland, Fort Cumberland Road, Eastney, Portsmouth PO4 9LD
Tel: 023 9285 6700
Email: cfa@english-heritage.org.uk
Website:
Current Archaeology (magazine)
9 Nassington Road, London NW3 2TX
Tel: 08456 44 77 07
Email: current@archaeology.co.uk
Website:
Spoilheap
Website:
Information about British archaeology, including burial archaeology and human skeletal remains.
Please note: the ±«Óãtv accepts no responsibility for the content of external websites.
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Vanessa has presentedÌýscience and current affairs programmes for ±«Óãtv, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for ±«Óãtv Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.Ìý