Avebury forum 222 room
Image by photobabe
Avebury

Prehistoric skeletons will stay at Avebury museum

close
more_vert
tjj T
tjj Apr 7, 2010 09:05:39
Replying to megadread

megadread wrote:
http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/7986642.Prehistoric_skeletons_will_remain_at_Avebury_museum_say_bosses/

Well done EH.

I agree it is a 'no nonsense' decision and firmly addresses the precedent that making concessions in the Avebury museum case would have set. I think that in future excavations where burials are concerned archaeologists should be less quick to remove the 'ancient dead' from their resting place and take only a small section of bone for radio carbon dating. This is just a personal view and when you consider the millions of dead bodies that have found their way into the soil over millennia, does it really matter?

M megadread
megadread Apr 7, 2010 14:57:14
Replying to tjj

Well my main issue was them setting a precedent, a very dangerous one.
With respect the druids have no claim to these bones, well no more so than any other British citizen and in that context do have a right to an opinion on the subject, this was considered and in the end the majority of people saw sense (imo) and the right decision was made.
The bones in question are so far removed from any living person that they can't be seen to be tied to anyone emotionally (imo)
Also no religious group can claim these remains as one of their own, we don't honestly know (and never can) what religion the living person would have followed despite all the sites being labelled "pagan", there just isn't any evidence to back it up.