The study of human remains has made an important contribution
to our understanding of our past and, with the discovery of
new techniques, continues to provide new insights. This work,
however, raises important ethical questions which archaeologists
need to consider with care.
The basic issues are, in essence, fairly simple. While some
people, including archaeologists, believe that an increase in
understanding of our past is an important shared benefit, other
people believe that it is wrong to dig up human burials for archaeological
study however interesting the information that is gained.
How much weight should society, and we as archaeologists,
1 At the time this talk was given, the writer was the Chief Scientist at
English Heritage; he has since retired. The views expressed here should
not be taken as a statement of EH’s views, though the writer has no
reason to believe that EH takes a different view.