About Me

I'm a PhD student researching the role of the archaeological dead in contemporary British society. Think of this as a scrapbook of all the interesting links, snippets of information and random bits and bobs I come across pertaining to death, dying and the dead. Enjoy?!

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    Children's body parts were kept by police

    Significant body parts from almost 90 children were kept by police often without informing parents, a BBC investigation has found.

    A national audit in 2012 found police forces had kept almost 500 body parts from cases dating back to the 1960s.

    In one, the brain of a child from Dorset was kept for 13 years. The mother was only told during a visit from police carrying out the audit.

    Dorset Police said it would not comment on individual cases.

    Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act it is legal for the police to retain body parts and samples during investigations.

    Det Insp Kevin Connolly from Dorset Police said: “This has been incredibly difficult for these families and we have provided all the support we can to help them at this difficult time.”

    How Much Is Your Dead Body Worth? 

    When veteran broadcaster Alistair Cooke died in 2004 few suspected that he was yet to uncover his greatest story. What happened to his body as it lay in a funeral home would reveal a story of modern day grave robbery and helped smash a body-snatching ring that had made millions of dollars by chopping up and selling-off over 1000 bodies.

    Dead bodies have become big business.Each year millions of people’s lives are improved by the use of tissue from the dead. Bodies are used to supply spare parts, and for surgeons to practice on. Horizon investigates the medical revolution that has created an almost insatiable demand for body parts and uncovers the growing industry and grisly black market that supplies human bodies for a price.

    A really fascinating BBC documentary - highly recommended!

    (Source: youtube.com)

    Canapé, 2011 - These chairs are stuffed with human fat... Palaces, 2009 - 2015 - This piece is made from resin and milk teeth! Children can donate their pearly whites to the exhibition and they will be incorporated into this amazing sculpture. Diagram of a Summer House, 2012 - Dental casts! Trophies of Empire III Moon, 2012 Femoral casts!

    A few snaps I took at The Wasted Works at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. This was an exhibition by Gina Czarnecki that explored the life-giving potential of ‘discarded’ body parts, as well as their relationship to myths, history, stem cell research and notions of what constitutes informed consent. It’s off to Coventry next and is definitely worth a peep if you’re in the vicinity!

    You can see a few more photographs on my Flickr.

    (Source: xmorbidcuriosityx)

    You’ve probably heard the controversy surrounding the international exhibitions that display plastinated human bodies—a controversy over where the bodies came from.

    Well now, an inside source has told NTD that Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai were involved in facilitating the sale of unclaimed human bodies—people who did not give consent.

    We’re talking about Bo Xilai, the ousted Chinese Communist Party secretary, and his wife Gu Kailai, who was recently tried for murdering a British citizen.

    So we set out to verify this information. We’ll tell you what we know, what’s unconfirmed but is logically the most likely, and what still needs further investigation.

    Intriguing…

    (Source: youtube.com)

    The business of recycling dead humans into medical implants is a little-known yet lucrative trade. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) discovered allegations of wrongdoing over the procurement of some of the raw materials used in the products. Find out more: www.icij.org/tissue.

    (Source: youtube.com)

    Thieves steal mummified liar’s hand from church Police are hunting thieves who stole a mummified hand from a church in western Germany, leaving the small congregation heartbroken over the loss of their popular relic which had been in a box for more than a century.  The “perjury-hand” had been safe in a wooden box above the font in St Brigida church, Legden, North Rhine-Westphalia, since 1905. The legend is that the hand was chopped off a liar, but it had always been a mystery as to who the liar had been – and what the lie was that led to such a punishment.Its disappearance has left the congregation, and indeed many Legden’s inhabitants “deeply saddened,” said cultural society member Alfred Janning. Police are hunting for the hand but are at a loss to who took it, or why. It was first noticed missing on Sunday. “Who would do such a thing?” asked Janning. The Legden cultural society had just raised enough money to send the hand to Düsseldorf University for tests to find out how old it was and if it belonged to a man or woman. It was originally found during the demolition of an old fortified tower in 1907, having been preserved in the chalky limestone which was disturbed during the work. It has been in St Brigida since then.  Full story here.

    Thieves steal mummified liar’s hand from church

    Police are hunting thieves who stole a mummified hand from a church in western Germany, leaving the small congregation heartbroken over the loss of their popular relic which had been in a box for more than a century. 

    The “perjury-hand” had been safe in a wooden box above the font in St Brigida church, Legden, North Rhine-Westphalia, since 1905. 

    The legend is that the hand was chopped off a liar, but it had always been a mystery as to who the liar had been – and what the lie was that led to such a punishment.

    Its disappearance has left the congregation, and indeed many Legden’s inhabitants “deeply saddened,” said cultural society member Alfred Janning. 

    Police are hunting for the hand but are at a loss to who took it, or why. It was first noticed missing on Sunday. “Who would do such a thing?” asked Janning. 

    The Legden cultural society had just raised enough money to send the hand to Düsseldorf University for tests to find out how old it was and if it belonged to a man or woman. 

    It was originally found during the demolition of an old fortified tower in 1907, having been preserved in the chalky limestone which was disturbed during the work. It has been in St Brigida since then. 

    Full story here.

    Ministry of Defence 'deeply sorry' over body parts kept without permission

    The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said it is ‘deeply sorry’ after it emerged body parts and tissue from 30 soldiers killed in Afghanistan had been kept without their families’ permission.

    Six body parts and 50 tissue samples were retained by the Royal Military police (RMP) without relatives of the servicemen being informed.

    The issue only came to light last month when a new manager was appointed to head the special investigations branch (SIB) of the RMP.

    The MoD said officials were now working to identify and inform affected families.

    ‘We owe a huge apology to the families involved and those who will now be feeling stressful even if it doesn’t affect them,’ Major General James Everard told BBC News.

    Maj Gen Everard said he ‘hoped’ no further samples would be discovered.

    Body parts were found at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, while tissue samples were discovered on laboratory slides for matching or identifying dead soldiers at SIB’s headquarters at Bulford Garrison in Wiltshire.

    ‘There are occasions when it is necessary for the RMP special investigations branch to retain slides of forensic material from individuals killed on operations as part of their investigation - this is standard practice,’ the MoD said.

    ‘However, the RMP identified there were a small number of cases where this had been done without the correct processes being followed to inform families.

    ‘It is thought there could be 60 forensic items, such as microscope slides, containing material from some individuals.’

    The MoD added: ‘Investigations are being carried out urgently into this matter. The RMP special investigations branch has also taken swift action to ensure this cannot happen again and are identifying the families affected as quickly as possible.’

    The oversight in not gaining consent was blamed on a change in the way SIB liaised with families, the procedures of which have now been amended.

    Full story here.

    EAT YOUR HEART OUT 2012 Beyond delighted to say that Eat Your Heart Out 2 will be held in the St Barts Pathology Museum in London from October 26th – 28th. Working closely with the wonderful Carla Valentine, EYHO is going 100% anatomically correct & educational on your arse. If you want pretty labels on your cakes saying what flavor they are then don’t come… In their place will be some information on the very body part you are about to eat a delicious cake version of. They’ll also be the ultimate cake pathology lecture focusing on REAL conditions such as maple-syrup urine disease, icing sugar spleen and nutmeg liver. Lots more secrets yet to be revealed so be afraid, be very afraid… Lung cancer cookies below are from Nevie Pie Cakes (and will be on sale in the space if I can persuade her)! Cake makers wanting to take part then the full brief is here – the pathology theme is fairly open so please fell free to send me over any ideas you have. Eat Your Heart Out is a non for profit organization supporting the art of cake making all brand support welcome. Now anyone for an icing sugar spleen?… I am SO there! This sounds absolutely bloody amazing!

    EAT YOUR HEART OUT 2012

    Beyond delighted to say that Eat Your Heart Out 2 will be held in the St Barts Pathology Museum in London from October 26th – 28th. Working closely with the wonderful Carla Valentine, EYHO is going 100% anatomically correct & educational on your arse. If you want pretty labels on your cakes saying what flavor they are then don’t come… In their place will be some information on the very body part you are about to eat a delicious cake version of. They’ll also be the ultimate cake pathology lecture focusing on REAL conditions such as maple-syrup urine disease, icing sugar spleen and nutmeg liver. Lots more secrets yet to be revealed so be afraid, be very afraid…

    Lung cancer cookies below are from Nevie Pie Cakes (and will be on sale in the space if I can persuade her)!

    Cake makers wanting to take part then the full brief is here – the pathology theme is fairly open so please fell free to send me over any ideas you have. Eat Your Heart Out is a non for profit organization supporting the art of cake making all brand support welcome.

    Now anyone for an icing sugar spleen?…

    I am SO there! This sounds absolutely bloody amazing!

    Human Corpses Are Prize In Global Drive For Profits

    On Feb. 24, Ukrainian authorities made an alarming discovery: bones and other human tissues crammed into coolers in a grimy white minibus.

    Investigators grew even more intrigued when they found, amid the body parts, envelopes stuffed with cash and autopsy results written in English.

    What the security service had disrupted was not the work of a serial killer but part of an international pipeline of ingredients for medical and dental products that are routinely implanted into people around the world.

    Grim.

    Body parts found in University of Cologne's cellars

    Hundreds of human body parts have been found in the cellars of the institute of anatomy, apparently abandoned for years

    The University of Cologne is investigating after hundreds of human body parts were found in the cellars of its institute of anatomy, apparently abandoned there for years.

    The scandal has shaken the German academic world, especially as last month the former head of the anatomy department was found dead, apparently having taken his life when rumours began to circulate.

    According to a first report made available to Spiegel Online, university staff discovered a room full of human adult corpses and animal cadavers, as well as a large number of plastic buckets, labelled “noses”, “newborns” and “shark head”. Evidence gathered by hygiene experts and fire safety officers accompanying the staff indicated that the room might have been left unused for a decade or more.

    About 100 corpses of people who had donated their bodies to medical research, but who should by then have long been buried, were among the macabre discoveries. The institute has been trying to identify them using a highly muddled donor archive.

    One of the staff, a man who wished to remain anonymous, said that at the time of the visit “the cooling system was broken, and the room smelt accordingly bad”. He described the scene as “quite disgusting” and “reminiscent of a horror film”.

    According to the report, the group took mould samples from the walls and the corpses, analysis of which also indicated the room had been left unused for years.

    Grim. Click the link to read the rest of the article…

    theossuary: There’s a nice little video about this piece—showing a curator/smart person opening it up and revealing the (sadly, empty) compartments inside—on the website for the exhibit Treasures of Heaven. The reliquary is believed to have held bits of skull and breastbone purported to belong to one of the 11,000 slaughtered maiden-followers of Saint Ursula.* Image: Unknown female saint. Source: britishmuseum on Flickr. Reliquary bust of an unknown female saint, probably a companion of St Ursula. South Netherlandish, c. 1520 – 1530. © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. *Allegedly.

    theossuary:

    There’s a nice little video about this piece—showing a curator/smart person opening it up and revealing the (sadly, empty) compartments inside—on the website for the exhibit Treasures of Heaven.

    The reliquary is believed to have held bits of skull and breastbone purported to belong to one of the 11,000 slaughtered maiden-followers of Saint Ursula.*

    Image: Unknown female saint. Source: britishmuseum on Flickr.

    Reliquary bust of an unknown female saint, probably a companion of St Ursula.
    South Netherlandish, c. 1520 – 1530.
    © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

    *Allegedly.

    (via theossuary)

    Scottish prehistoric mummies made from jigsaw of body parts

    archaeologicalnews:

    DNA tests on British prehistoric mummies revealed they were made of body parts from several different people, arranged to look like one person.

    The four bodies discovered in 2001 on South Uist, in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides were the first evidence in Britain of deliberate mummification.

    …