politics
March 7, 2026
Vast scale of overseas human remains held in UK museums decried by MPs and experts
Exclusive: Guardian study finds UK museums hold more than 260,000 items of remains, often in sacrilegious ways
TL;DR
- UK museums hold over 263,000 items of human remains from around the world.
- 37,000 items are known to originate from overseas, including thousands from former British colonies.
- The Natural History Museum in London and the University of Cambridge hold the largest collections of non-European human remains.
- Many remains are stored in ways described as sacrilegious and disrespectful, with origins often unknown.
- MPs and archaeologists have condemned the collections as a shameful legacy of colonialism and a spiritual offense.
- Experts believe these practices continue colonial violence and dehumanization, treating individuals as objects.
- Calls are being made for a national register and mandatory guidelines for the return of human remains to their countries of origin.
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