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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    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)

    Living on death in Zambia: 'Dead bodies can't harm you'

    Undertakers are often almost invisible - and in some societies they are stigmatised because of their job.

    In Zambia strong cultural beliefs mean that they are feared and avoided by family members and neighbours.

    So what inspired a Zambian man to challenge traditional and to work in a mortuary?

    Hudson Mabwe Kapemba told the BBC World Service about his life as a mortuary attendant.

    The 58 year old has been doing the job for more than 25 years.

    He is one of the longest-serving morticians at Zambia’s University Teaching Hospital in the capital, Lusaka.

    A great piece by the BBC - click through to read the rest.

    Doctors, Dissection and Resurrection Men

    Explore the early 19th century history of human dissection and the trade in dead bodies through dramatic evidence unearthed during Museum of London Archaeology excavations at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

    Exhibition runs from 19 October 2012 — 14 April 2013, admission charges apply.

    Can’t wait to see this! Ahem.

    (Source: museumoflondon.org.uk)