Guidelines

Current guidelines and advice:

 

How to pack a skeleton

NEVER pack the skull, maxilla and mandible at the bottom of the box. Heavy bones go first!

Loose teeth, maxillae and mandibles should be bagged seperately, and not with the heavier cranial vault.

Pathological bones & fragile maxillae should be wrapped in acid free paper.

If you unwrap pathalogical bones you MUST make sure they are re-wrapped in their tissue paper and bubble wrap when you have finished with them.

Please handle the skeletons with the utmost care and respect. Thank you.

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Human Bones from Archaeological Sites: guidelines for producing assessment

documents and analytical reports

English Heritage, 2004

 

Excavation and post-excavation treatment of cremated and inhumed human remains

Jacqueline I McKinley and Charlotte Roberts, 1993

 

Crypt archaeology: an approach

Institute of Field Archaeologists, Technical paper No 3, Margaret Cox, 2001

 

Guidelines to the Standards for Recording Human Remains

Institute of Field Archaeologists, Technical paper No 7, Megan Brickley and Jacqueline I McKinley, 2004

 

Guidance for best Practice for Treatmentof Human Remains Excavated from Christian Burial Grounds in England

English Heritage, 2005

 

Church Archaeology Human Remains Working Group Report

English Heritage

 

Battlefield Archaeology - A Guide To The Archaeology Of Conflict

British Archaeological Job Resource, Tim Sutherland and Malin Holst, 2005

 

BABAO Code of Ethics

British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology

 

The Human Tissue Act

Human Tissue Act 2004

 

Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

 

Burial Law and Policy in the 21st Century - the Way Forward

Ministry of Justice, 2004

 

Guidelines for the Care of Human Remains in Scottish Museum Collections

Ministry of Justice

 

BABAO Code of Practice

British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology

 

A Basic Overview for the Recovery of Human Remains from Sites Under Development

Recovery of Human Remains from Sites Under Development

British Archaeological Job Resource, Ossafreelance 2004 (upadted 2010 and 2012)

 

Archaeology and Burial Vaults A Guidance Note for Churches

Produced in consultation with the Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Burials in England Archaeology of Burials in England (APABE) 2010

 

The Heritage of Death

English Heritage Conservation Bulletin 66 2011

 

Large Burial Grounds Guidance on Sampling in Archaeological Fieldwork Projects

Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Burials in England 2015

 

Science and the Dead: A Guideline for the Destructive Sampling of Archaeological

 

Human Remains for Scientific Analysis

Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Burials in England 2013