Vast scale of overseas human remains held in UK museums decried by MPs and experts

Exclusive: Guardian study finds UK museums hold more than 260,000 items of remains, often in sacrilegious ways Which human remains are held in UK museums – and where? The vast number of overseas human remains held by UK museums is a shameful legacy of colonialism, with many items kept in ways that are sacrilegious, according to MPs and archaeologists. An investigation by the Guardian found that UK museums hold more than 263,000 items of human remains from around the world, including whole skeletons, preserved bodies, such as Egyptian mummies, skulls, bones, skin, teeth, nails, scalps and hair. Responses to freedom of information (FoI) requests from the Guardian revealed that 37,000 items of human remains are known to originate from overseas, including thousands from former British colonies. The countries of origin of another 16,000 items are unknown. Of the 28,914 items of human remains known to originate from outside Europe, 11,856 were identified as coming from Africa, 9,550 from Asia, 3,252 from Oceania, 2,276 from North America, and 1,980 from South America. The institution with the largest collection of non-European human remains is the Natural History Museum in London, with a

Mar 7, 2026 → Mar 7, 2026