Honouring the Ancient Dead (HAD), the charity that advocates for the respectful treatment of human remains, is inviting museums to update their entries on its Your Local Museum (YLM) database.
The database provides detailed information of human remains housed in more than 300 collections across the UK and is an important resource for students, professionals and the public. The database can now be updated directly by museums themselves.
The organisation said: "Honouring the Ancient Dead has been building its unique online record of ancient human remains for nearly two decades now.
"Since starting out with physical letters and stamped-addressed-envelopes, the surveys have grown to via email to capture detailed information of over 300 collections nationwide, and is now frequently appreciated as a valuable resource for students, professionals, and the public.
"The latest incarnation of the database hosted on HAD’s website now provides secure access over the internet for museums wishing to maintain their records directly. HAD recognises its duty of care in ensuring that the records within the YLM database remain up-to-date and accurate. This autumn, HAD is moving away from direct email and embracing social media in order to gather the latest updates."
Announcements about the update will be made on X and Facebook at the end of October. Alternatively, museums can contact HAD to request access to their records or make a new contribution.
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The dataset is also presented via HAD’s Open Heritage Map, which now graphically shows records for over 3,000 archaeological sites and full records for all exhumations conducted as part of the HS2 rail project.
HAD chair, Emma Restall Orr, said: "Building an accurate picture of which (and how many) museums have human/ancestral remains, whether in store or on display, is valuable for all stakeholders.
"Whether looking at better cataloguing or storage, academic, local or personal research, or reburial, knowing what or who is where is a critical first step."
