FLESH AND BONE - Pathology and Osteology
A salon in the cemetery with Jelena Bekvalac and Carla Valentine
Sunday 25th October from 1 to 2:30 pm

With shiny, thrusting new office towers being erected seemingly every week in the City of London and many more streets shrouded in hoardings proudly proclaiming the advent of new monstrous carbuncles, have you ever wondered what happens to the relics and bones found during construction works? Who has claim on them? And what can they tell us about the history and culture of London past? JELENA BEKVALAC, the Museum of London’s curator of osteology and director of the museum's recent blockbuster "Doctors, Dissection and Resurrection Men", uncovers the history of London’s skeletal remains.

The display and use of human remains has become a contentious topic over recent years. Since the passing of the Human Tissue Act in 2004 it is illegal for the public to view human remains which are under 100 years old. Some museums are in repatriation discussions with their collections' countries of origin and certain auction houses have been fined for selling body parts. However, medical collections displayed in a historical context in designated museums are still a valuable example of material culture and a wonderful tool for research and education. Bart's Pathology Museum curator CARLA VALENTINE will give a brief history of human remains display and explain why she thinks these items should be seen.

Tickets £12 including a Hendrick's Gin Cocktail. Please click here to buy.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jelena Bekvalac
is the Curator of Human Osteology at the Museum of London and was an original member of the research osteologist team at the Wellcome funded Centre for Human Bioarchaeology.

Carla Valentine is technical curator of Barts Pathology Museum, part of the School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London. She is a fully qualified anatomical pathology technician and worked in a mortuary for eight years conducting post-mortem examinations. She vlogs about the specimens on YouTube, under the name The Chick and the Dead.

courtoy mausoleum