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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    Understanding Grief: Mourning In A Healthier Way

    Wouldn’t it be in our best interest as a society to transform our fear-based culture of death by encouraging a healthier belief about death as a normal occurrence? There is so much we could do to educate and prepare ourselves to handle death with greater loving, service, and compassion.

    (Source: Huffington Post)

    Death – still with us, but further away than ever

    When the death of the actor Richard Griffiths was announced last week, tributes from friends and colleagues were heartfelt. Griffiths was 65, which isn’t old in modern terms, and his death from complications after heart surgery was unexpected. That much was evident from the shocked reaction of actors who had worked with him, some of them on very recent projects as well as the cult film Withnail & I. With the retirement age for both sexes set to rise to 66, Griffiths hadn’t even reached the end of his working life, and the sense of loss was palpable.

    Earlier in the week, in another continent, a much older man was admitted to hospital with a lung infection. The former South African president Nelson Mandela is 94 and clearly in the final phase of his life, which made the current president’s response all the more puzzling. Jacob Zuma asked South Africans to pray for Mandela, as though his death might be avoided through divine intercession, and added that they “must not panic”. Panic is usually a response to an unexpected event and it’s hard to see how anyone in South Africa, no matter how devoted to Mandela, could be unprepared for his demise.

    If there is an element of denial in the public attitude to Mandela’s closeness to death, it is not exclusive to South Africa. Profiles of the Queen, 87 this year, stress her good health and the longevity of her ancestors, notably Queen Victoria. It’s as if her demise is so awful to contemplate that it can’t be mentioned, so we are treated to endless upbeat announcements whenever she or her even older spouse needs hospital treatment. “Prince Philip joked with nurses last night” is how royal correspondents conceal anxiety about the fact that he is 91 and won’t be around for ever.

    There’s probably never been a time when it’s so hard to talk about death. Better health and increased life expectancy mean we don’t grow up with the bereavements familiar in the 19th century; Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died at the age of 42, leaving her a widow for almost 40 years. These days, most of us are too young to remember the Second World War, when whole areas of British cities were erased overnight; there were thousands of civilian casualties. And while the Victorians’ belief in an afterlife doesn’t seem to have been much of a consolation to those who lost children or spouses, even fewer of us believe in it now.

    So perhaps it isn’t so surprising that public discourse about death is characterised by avoidance. When Princess Diana died, I was shocked to hear people telling their children that she was “in heaven” or “with the angels” – another example of how hard we find sudden death.

    Read more.

    Grieving daughter spends EIGHT MONTHS sleeping beside the body of her dead mother because she couldn’t afford the funeral A grieving daughter spent eight months sleeping next to the body of her dead mother in their one-bedroom flat because she could not afford to bury her, it emerged today. The grim living arrangement only came to light after bailiffs were sent to the property, in Munich, Germany, to recover debts left by the 70-year-old pensioner to find her decomposing corpse on a sofa bed in the flat’s only bedroom. Most tragically however, her daughter, who had been living on unemployment benefits, was apparently unaware that she would not have been expected to stump up for the funeral in any case, police said. Read more.

    Grieving daughter spends EIGHT MONTHS sleeping beside the body of her dead mother because she couldn’t afford the funeral

    A grieving daughter spent eight months sleeping next to the body of her dead mother in their one-bedroom flat because she could not afford to bury her, it emerged today.

    The grim living arrangement only came to light after bailiffs were sent to the property, in Munich, Germany, to recover debts left by the 70-year-old pensioner to find her decomposing corpse on a sofa bed in the flat’s only bedroom.

    Most tragically however, her daughter, who had been living on unemployment benefits, was apparently unaware that she would not have been expected to stump up for the funeral in any case, police said.

    Read more.

    GRIEVE FOR THE SOUL – NOT FOR THE BODY

    I MUST fully accept that many will profoundly disagree with me on this but I have never understood why so many have an obsession with the exact location of a body after death.

    We have all just witnessed the death of Winnie Johnson whose entire life for 47 years was absorbed with the grief she experienced because she could not exactly place (and retrieve) the remains of her murdered son Keith Bennett.

    That simple obsession destroyed her life.

    We know that as far back as the Ancient Egyptians people went to incredible lengths to preserve the dead by embalming but they really believed the actual body would rise again for the journey to another world. We don’t do that any more, do we?

    Other peoples have embalmed bodies in lead coffins to prevent decomposition and failed. And then only the high and the mighty.

    But grief is for the living, the dead cannot grieve for themselves and grief is an emotion, not a physical object.
    Full piece here.

    • Posted 8 months ago
    • September 15th, 2012

    0 Likes & Reblogs

    Spontaneous Mourning and Material Culture: The Archaeology of Roadside Memorials

    American roadsides are home to a vast range of impromptu memorials, some anonymous and modest crosses at the scene of a tragedy and others elaborate and well-maintained commemorations.  Most of the markers on the shoulders of American streets commemorate the victims of an automobile accident, but there seem to be no especially systematic surveys of the geographical distribution, styles, composition, or duration of such markers.  The phenomenon is not restricted to the US:  In Australia, for instance, an astounding one in five auto accident fatalities is commemorated by a roadside memorial, and a thorough and fascinating catalogue of its roadside memorialsreveals exceptionally complex markers and a diverse range of material commemorations; in the Ukraine, markers are traditionally placed at the site of tragedyand dot Ukrainian roadsides; and an ambitious French study by anthropologist Laetitia Nicolas inventoried markers and elements of roadside shrines throughout the country, with some thorough ethnographically researched studies of some shrines.  While these memorials appear to have become much more common in the past few decades, the historical roots for such memorials extend well into the past, too, evoking the trailside burials left along arteries blazed by the earliest settlers into the American West.

    There is a series of compelling archaeological questions in these spontaneous shrines that reflect how we manage tragedy and loss and collectively approach public space.  

    This is a brilliant post - click through to read the rest!

    Ghost bikes

    Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists’ right to safe travel.

    The first ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003. Currently there are over 500 ghost bikes that have since appeared in over 180 locations throughout the world. For those who create and install the memorials, the death of a fellow bicyclist hits home. We all travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be any one of us. Each time we say we hope to never have to do it again — but we remain committed to making these memorials as long as they are needed.

    Ever seen a white bike chained to a railing and wondered what that was all about? It’s a ghost bike and this great website explains all.

    Sheffield memorial removed after threat from objectors

    A MEMORIAL gate to help mourners grieve has had to be removed - as people said it ‘reminded them about death’.

    Volunteers at Your Good Mourning shop, in Walkley, were ‘gobsmacked’ to be told to take down the gate or it would be torn down by objectors.

    Tributes, ribbons and memorial doves had been tied to the gate, which had permission to be attached to the tree outside on South Road, in memory of lost loved ones.

    Its aim was to help people come to terms with a death as part of the Dying Matters national campaign.

    Glenda Kirkby has founded the shop, which acts as a chatroom to help people dealing with the death of a friend or loved one.

    She said: “We want to make people aware that to be able to grieve and talk about it does help the process of losing somebody.

    “The gate was up there for two days when a woman came in the shop and said ‘can you take it down because it’s upsetting people’.

    “We were gobsmacked so asked why and she said it was reminding people about death.

    “She said there was a group of people who don’t like it and they will rip it down if you don’t take it down.”

    Hours later, posts at the side of the gate had been ripped down and Your Good Mourning volunteers felt forced to remove the memorial.

    Glenda, who set up the shop after finding a lack of support when her father died, wants Star readers to give their views on what happened.

    She added: “We were worried that some of the tributes people had left might be taken which would be far more disrespectful.

    “The only problem we possibly thought could happen with the gate is that somebody take it for scrap, that’s why we secured it.

    “We never thought people would complain because it reminded them of death.

    “The situation we have faced is crazy. This just shows there are still a lot of taboos about death.”

    Queen Victoria’s Mourning Clothing Sold at Auction Alexandrina Victoria of the Royal Hanover house was queen of Great Britain and Ireland from the time she was 18 years old on June 20, 1837 up until her death at age 82 on January 22, 1901. Not only was Queen Victoria, with a reign that spanned over 63 years, the longest reigning British Monarch of all time but she was also the longest reigning female monarch in history. Other than being remembered for her extended reign, many remain interested in Queen Victoria due to her somewhat odd reputation for being “obsessed” with death. She was a huge influence on the public’s beliefs and behaviours during this era which is why, to Victorians, death and its rituals held just as much importance as rituals concerning life. Click through for the rest of this great article from the writers at Mysendoff!

    Queen Victoria’s Mourning Clothing Sold at Auction

    Alexandrina Victoria of the Royal Hanover house was queen of Great Britain and Ireland from the time she was 18 years old on June 20, 1837 up until her death at age 82 on January 22, 1901. Not only was Queen Victoria, with a reign that spanned over 63 years, the longest reigning British Monarch of all time but she was also the longest reigning female monarch in history.

    Other than being remembered for her extended reign, many remain interested in Queen Victoria due to her somewhat odd reputation for being “obsessed” with death. She was a huge influence on the public’s beliefs and behaviours during this era which is why, to Victorians, death and its rituals held just as much importance as rituals concerning life.

    Click through for the rest of this great article from the writers at Mysendoff!

    A devoted farmer created this touching heart-shaped meadow as a tribute to his late wife - by planting thousands of oak trees. Dedicated Winston Howes, 70, spent a week planting each oak sapling after his wife of 33 years Janet died suddenly 17 years ago. He laid out the fledgling trees in a six-acre field but left a perfect heart shape in the middle - with the point facing in the direction of her childhood home. The labour of love has now blossomed into a mature meadow - a peaceful oasis where Winston can sit and remember his wife of 33 years. His meadow cannot be seen from the road and has remained a family secret until a hot air balloonist took this photograph from the air. So sad and yet so beautiful at the same time! *sniff*

    A devoted farmer created this touching heart-shaped meadow as a tribute to his late wife - by planting thousands of oak trees.

    Dedicated Winston Howes, 70, spent a week planting each oak sapling after his wife of 33 years Janet died suddenly 17 years ago.

    He laid out the fledgling trees in a six-acre field but left a perfect heart shape in the middle - with the point facing in the direction of her childhood home.

    The labour of love has now blossomed into a mature meadow - a peaceful oasis where Winston can sit and remember his wife of 33 years.

    His meadow cannot be seen from the road and has remained a family secret until a hot air balloonist took this photograph from the air.

    So sad and yet so beautiful at the same time! *sniff*

    Co-op funeral firm piled naked bodies up in grim warehouse morgue

    Britain’s biggest funeral firm has been accused of treating the dead with shocking disrespect and stacking bodies ‘like television sets’ at industrial-scale storage units.

    Instead of being kept in a chapel of rest before burial or cremation, the dead are kept among ‘rack upon rack of bodies’ in a warehouse-style ‘hub’.

    An undercover investigation revealed overworked staff were ‘treating bodies like luggage.’

    In one incident four bodies had to be transported in the same van and the lid was taken off an elderly woman’s coffin so they could all fit.

    The woman’s nose was almost touching the shelf above and when the body was unloaded in view of a block of flats a member of staff held the lid over the coffin to ‘preserve some dignity’.

    Co-operative Funeralcare, which has 900 funeral homes across the country and last year made a profit of over £52million, has apologised for bad practices revealed in Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and has launched an internal inquiry.

    Click through for the rest - the programme is on Channel 4 tonight and I shall most definitely be watching!