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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    Every year, Americans bury enough metal in the ground to rebuild the Golden Gate Bridge, says Vashon Island coffin maker Marcus Daly. His simple, handcrafted wooden coffins are an economical and environmentally friendly burial alternative. But Daly believes a coffin’s most important feature is that it can be carried. Here’s why.

    Special thanks to Marcus Daly of Marian Caskets. mariancaskets.com
    Original music by Jesse Solomon Clark. agentsdelfuturo.com
    Produced by Visual Contact visualcontact.com.

    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)

    10 Fascinating Death Facts from the Victorian Era Benjamin Franklin said: “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Well, nowadays some people do manage to escape paying taxes but death—as far as we know anyway—still can’t be avoided. And no time period planned for, feared and yes, even celebrated death more than the Victorian age. With that said, here are ten fascinating facts about death in the Victorian era. (Source: Listverse)

    10 Fascinating Death Facts from the Victorian Era

    Benjamin Franklin said: “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Well, nowadays some people do manage to escape paying taxes but death—as far as we know anyway—still can’t be avoided. And no time period planned for, feared and yes, even celebrated death more than the Victorian age.

    With that said, here are ten fascinating facts about death in the Victorian era.

    (Source: Listverse)

    'Rent a Mourner' fills your funeral with fake friends

    It’s a niggling question familiar to anyone who has ever thrown a party; What if nobody shows up? 

    A new company in the U.K. is addressing - and capitalizing upon - that fear by promising to ensure your last gathering on earth is a very well attended one. 

    Rent-a-mourner, based in Essex, hires out actors at a rate of $70 Cdn per hour to attend funerals as “professional grievers.” 

    Their goal is help the deceased appear sufficiently popular and beloved, going so far as to cry openly and behave as if they knew the person in front of their friends and family. 

    “We are typically invited to help increase visitors to funerals where there may be a low turnout expected,” reads the company’s website. “This can usually be a popularity issue or being new to an area, or indeed, the country. We can supply professional, polite, well dressed individuals to attend funerals and wakes.” 

    Read more.

    Taiwan’s most famous professional mourner Crying on command isn’t easy, but Liu Jun-Lin is hired to do it every day, at funerals for people she never knew. She’s Taiwan’s best-known professional mourner - a time-honoured tradition in her country that may be dying out. Crying for a living is controversial, seen by some as the commercialisation of grief, but mourners like Liu say their profession has a long history in Taiwan, where according to tradition the deceased needs a big, loud send-off to cross smoothly into the afterlife. “When a loved one dies, you grieve so much that when it finally comes time for the funeral, you don’t have any tears left,” says Liu. “How are you going to suddenly switch your mood to show all that sorrow?” Liu is there to help strike the right tone. Read more here!

    Taiwan’s most famous professional mourner

    Crying on command isn’t easy, but Liu Jun-Lin is hired to do it every day, at funerals for people she never knew. She’s Taiwan’s best-known professional mourner - a time-honoured tradition in her country that may be dying out.

    Crying for a living is controversial, seen by some as the commercialisation of grief, but mourners like Liu say their profession has a long history in Taiwan, where according to tradition the deceased needs a big, loud send-off to cross smoothly into the afterlife.

    “When a loved one dies, you grieve so much that when it finally comes time for the funeral, you don’t have any tears left,” says Liu.

    “How are you going to suddenly switch your mood to show all that sorrow?”

    Liu is there to help strike the right tone.

    Read more here!

    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!

    South Korea Adopts New Mourning Tradition

    Death in any culture has predominately become a paradox of emotions. Throughout our lives we learn that death is inevitable and that it should be approached with acceptance, on the other hand, when someone close to us dies, we are filled with grief – even as we get older, our perception of death is one of trepidation. To overcome these feelings, we’ve turned to commemorating the memory of our loved ones withkeepsake memorials, from memorial tattoos to the revival of Tear Bottles.

    However, for Kim Il-nam, his grief was one that he endured every day since the death of his father 27 years ago. In fact, his loss led  Kim to make a startling decision. Digging up the grave, he had his father’s bones cremated and paid $870 to have the ashes transformed into gem-like beads.

    Another great article from Mysendoff - 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*