Calls to halt auction of human skull and bones in Angus
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is calling for Taylor's Auctioneers in Montrose to remove the three lots, for ethical reasons
Last updated 28th Apr 2022
UPDATE The lots have now been withdrawn from auction***
READ MORE: Auction of human skull and bones in Angus cancelled
A human skull, hip and thigh bones are up for auction in Angus - but there's calls for the lots to be removed due to ethical concerns.
The concerns are being raised by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for the three items, which are due to go under the hammer on the 5th of May in Montrose.
Despite it not being illegal for the items to be up for sale, the Society of Antiquaries argues that there are serious ethical issues around the sale of human remains, and have appealed to the Angus auction house to remove the listing.
Director of the Society Simon Gilmour told Tay News: "We believe that it's unethical to commodify human remains in this way. The buying and selling of life humans is illegal. Why would that change once you're dead?"
He added: "There is no specific law in Scotland covering the purchase and sale of human remains out with of some very specific legal restraints, such as the Human Tissue Act and the law of Sepulchre, which is about burial.
Taylor's Auctioneers, based in Montrose, has listed the human skull, hip and thigh bones for sale in an auction set to be held on the 5th of May, as part of the Militaria, Domestic & Rural Bygones collection.
Mr Gilmour said: "Every now and again human remains do come up for sale at auction houses and you can imagine the the various situations in which that might arise, and these specific ones are these seem to be ex medical specimens. They were obviously for learning more about the human body."
The auction house are perfectly within the right to to sell these these remains, but we do believe that it's it's ethically wrong to do so.
He added: "It's not clear how old they are and so it's not unsure as to whether it's it's covered by the Human Tissue Act or not, because that only covers certain periods of time after death."
The group put out an appeal on Twitter after Taylor's Auctioneers reportedly rejected their request to removed the three lots.
"We contacted the auction house almost immediately." Group Director Simon Gilmour said:
"We became aware of this, just to say exactly as I'm saying to you that we think this is unethical. We don't think that people should be bought and sold like this. These are, you know, this is somebody's daughter or somebody's son. And we have no idea of what they would have wanted their remains to be used for in after their death."
The buying and selling of life humans is illegal. Why would that change once you're dead?
The Society also cites the British Association for Biological Anthropology's (BABAO) stance on the sale of human remains.
"BABAO defines ‘human remains’ as all individuals that fall within the range of anatomical forms known today and in the past. This includes skeletons, individual bones and teeth, and objects made in whole or in part from human bone or teeth and parts of preserved bodies (e.g. hair, nails, skin and other soft tissues), i.e. any ‘material’ that contains human cells."
'Within the past few years it has come to our attention that there have been numerous cases where human remains have been bought and sold for financial gain. The BABAO Trustees have responded in an ad hoc nature through written letters and emails. It is ethically objectionable to commodify the remains of people as objects, and the concept of ‘ownership’ of most human remains is not recognised in law.'
Simon Gilmour is calling for a change to the law in Scotland to include this ethical belief: "There is only two main laws, there's the Human Tissue Act and then there's this law of sepulchre. And unfortunately, most human remains fall in between those laws. So, we would love to see a specific law in Scotland prohibiting the buying and selling of human remains no matter where they come from or where they come from."
The three lots are due to go up for sale at Taylor's Auctioneers in Montrose on the 5th of May.
Tay News has approached Taylor's Auction House for their response.