The treatment of human remains is one of the most emotive and complex areas of archaeological activity. Feedback from archaeologists, parishes and clergy has indicated a clear need for guidance in this area. In 2001 a Human Remains Working Group was convened jointly by English Heritage and the Church of England in order to address the issues. The working group’s remit concerned burials from Christian contexts dating from the 7th to 19th centuries AD in England. This provided a coherent group of material to which a consistent theological framework could be applied in order to help inform ethical treatment and for which reasonably specific guidance might be given.
The Human Remains Working Group comprised eighteen members, organised into three separate panels, who were asked to address legal issues, theology and ethics, and scientific and technical matters. Coordination between the three panels was handled by the convenors and by means of meetings of the entire group. This document is a synthesis of the results of the group’s deliberations. It aims to provide reasonably comprehensive guidelines covering treatment of human remains and associated artefacts and grave markers at all phases of an archaeological fieldwork project, including decisions concerning whether remains should be retained long-term for scientific study or reburied following completion of the analysis phase of the fieldwork project. The target audience is primarily archaeologists, local authority planning departments, museums, clergy, and church organisations such as parochial church councils, diocesan advisory committees and consistory courts.
The principal assumptions underpinning the working group’s deliberations were:
• Human remains should always be treated with dignity and respect.
• Burials should not be disturbed without good reason. It was noted, however, that the demands of the modern world are such that it may be necessary to disturb burials in advance of development.
• Human remains, and the archaeological evidence for the rites which accompanied their burial, are important sources of scientific information.
• There is a need to give particular weight to the feelings and views of living family members when known.
• There is a need for decisions to be made in the public interest, and in an accountable way.
The working group’s main recommendations are:
1 CONTINUING BURIAL
a Digging any fresh graves in parts of an established burial ground thought to be an area of archaeological significance should be avoided unless all graves in the area are first excavated archaeologically.
b Archaeological monitoring of grave digging in churchyards and cemeteries is otherwise not something that can reasonably be required on a routine basis.
2 DEVELOPMENT OF BURIAL GROUNDS
a If burial grounds, or areas within burial grounds, which may contain interments more than 100 years old, have to be disturbed – whether for minor building work or larger scale development – to a depth that is likely to disturb burials, the relevant areas should be archaeologically evaluated. Any subsequent exhumations should be monitored, and if necessary carried out, by archaeologists.
b The developer, whether a religious or a secular organisation, should be responsible for the cost, including study of excavated remains and their reburial or deposition in a suitable holding institution.
3 RESEARCH EXCAVATION
a Research excavation of unthreatened burial grounds or areas of burial grounds is only acceptable if interments are more than 100 years old, and the proposed work is acceptable to the living close families of those who are buried, if known.
b Research excavations should normally take place within established research frameworks. Specific research aims must also be identified and adequately justified.
c The project budget should include sufficient provision to cover not only excavation costs but also the study of all recovered remains and their reburial or deposition in a suitable holding institution.
4 EXCAVATION, STUDY AND PUBLICATION
a Archaeological excavation, study and publication of burials should conform to the standards and procedures set out in the body of this document.
b When a skeleton lies only partly within an area under excavation it should not normally be ‘chased’ beyond it. However, if the burial is deemed osteologically or archaeologically important, the trench should be extended so that the skeleton may be lifted in its entirety, provided this will not result in disturbance of further burials. If it is not deemed necessary to lift the burial then the exposed remains should be reinterred in the trench. c Destructive analysis of human remains is acceptable provided that research aims are identified and adequately justified and if permission is given by the living close family of the individual involved, if known. d On excavations conducted for the purposes of evaluation of a site, lifting of human remains should be kept to the minimum compatible with adequate evaluation.
5 REBURIAL AND DEPOSITION
a Excavated human remains should be reburied, if living close family members are known and request it.
b Excavated human remains shown after due assessment to have limited future research potential should be studied and then reburied.
c Reburial should normally be by inhumation rather than by cremation.
d When excavated human remains are more than 100 years old and have significant future research potential, deposition in a suitable holding institution should be arranged. Redundant churches or crypts provide an acceptable compromise between the desirability of deposition in a consecrated place and the desirability of continued research access. A working party, to succeed the Human Remains Working Group, should be set up to pursue this, looking in particular at funding and at establishing proper working practices.
6 ADVISORY COMMITTEE
a A standing committee should be set up jointly by English Heritage and the Church of England to serve as a national advisory body on human remains from Christian burial grounds in England.This committee will take forward the issues raised in this document and will complement any human remains committees which may be set up as a response to the findings of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) working group on human remains in museum collections.
7 WIDER IMPLICATIONS
a The working group recognises that many of the issues raised here may have more general applicability to human burials excavated from English sites. It is hoped that this document will stimulate debate, which may lead to formulation of policy for dealing with human remains from a wider range of contexts.
b The working group recognises that many of the issues raised here would benefit from further consideration in the broader context of dealing with human remains.
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