We talk about human remains: how we might approach them as conservators, philosophical topics like consent and time, and examples from all over the world. Listen to an interview with conservator Barbara Wills sharing her experiences. We even review a topical book!

00:25 News in brief 01:35 Our experiences of working with the dead 03:18 Radio Newcastle snippet interviewing conservators Christina and Diana about mummies 05:00 Reactions to different types of human remains from the public - and from us! 08:10 Storage examples, the story of Bob, and Jeremy Bentham 12:12 Recent vs. ancient human remains 15:15 Consent, ethics, and privacy 21:58 Should we conserve human bodies? 24:20 Interview: Barbara Wills chats about her experiences with mummies 35:40 Contemplations, anxieties, and coping strategies as conservators 41:04 What really counts as human remains? 45:25 Context is everything: what about how they died and how long ago? 49:20 Licensing 53:00 Funerary objects 55:20 Review: The Conservation of Hair (book)

Show Notes:

• Heritage Science Group Photo Competition: http://icon.org.uk/news/icon-heritage-science-group-photo-competition-launched
• National Army Museum: “Watch the conservation of Major ‘Bronco’ Lane’s frostbitten toes” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntBE9gAhDD0
• Jeremy Bentham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham
• Preservation of Lenin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin's_Mausoleum
• ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ Rosalia Lombardo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalia_Lombardo
• Body Worlds by Gunther von Hagens: http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html
• Ötzi the Iceman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi
• Further reading for people interested in Barbara’s work: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/research_publications_series/2015/regarding_the_dead.aspx
• Human Remains in Museums (Museums Association): https://www.museumsassociation.org/campaigns/8125
• Human Tissue Authority: https://www.hta.gov.uk/
• The Conservation of Hair: https://www.archetype.co.uk/publication-details.php?id=227

Hosted by Jenny Mathiasson, Kloe Rumsey, and Christina Rozeik

Intro and outro music by DDmyzik used under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

A Wooden Dice production, 2017.