nigelswift wrote:
I didn't want to get into the Pagan authenticity can of worms, just wondered how Pagans - and others actually - who are sensitive about the way human remains are treated felt about this connected issue.
I personally kind of agree with you about dignified reburial of grave goods next to the true owners (though it'll never really catch on as a concept, they're just too shiny!) but I can't see why anyone should be free to flog them for cash!
"I can't see why
anyone should be free to flog them for cash!"
Absolutely. The wider issue though really is a tricky one, and one that's been discussed here and elsewhere before.
I'm not sure it'll ever be resolved because we're all coming at the issue from different directions. Some will want to leave tumuli (for example) unexcavated out of respect (this is the case in Japan where there is an outright ban on excavating the dozens of what are thought to be imperial tombs). Not so in neighbouring China, where an ongoing excavation of such places is underway, and you can see some of the spectacular results of those excavations at the current Terracotta Army Exhibition at the British Museum.
I don't know if we'll ever reach agreement on this. For what it's worth I believe an understanding of the past through sensitive excavation, conservation and respect for human remains (and whatever artefacts accompany them) is of more value to the understanding of our history and development than leaving such things to crumble away without ever seeing the light of day.
Others will disagree, and I respect that point of view as well.
