Honouring the Ancient Dead (HAD) is a British

Neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

advocacy group working within Britain for the dignified treatment of human remains of British pagan provenance. It explores the issues of excavation, storage, museum display, disposal, repatriation and reburial. In particular questioning the idea of who has assumed authority over human remains, its core remit is dialogue and consultation between all relevant bodies when decisions are made about the remains of the ancient dead. The organization was founded by

Emma Restall Orr Emma Restall Orr (born 1965) is a British animist, philosopher, poet, environmentalist, and author. Career Restall Orr worked for the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in the early 1990s, becoming an Ovate tutor. In 1993 she became joint chief o ...

, during the May 2004 negotiations regarding roads around

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

It makes no difference how long ago someone died. We are their living relatives.

HAD proposed a "Rite for the Committal of Human Remains" which focuses on respect while avoiding references to specific faiths or beliefs. HAD is not calling for mandatory reburial. Honouring the Ancient Dead communicates with academics and museums to raise awareness of the treatment of human remains in the British Isles. Many museums are sending human remains belonging to native peoples of other countries back for reburial. Where British remains are concerned, it is difficult to prove direct ancestry, nor is there coherence of religious belief through time connecting the ancient dead with the living. However, Honouring the Ancient Dead is challenging museums, curators and scientists to consider the British dead in a new light and to treat all remains with respect. The debate over human remains ranges widely with the needs of science, specific cultures, and the bones themselves under consideration. HAD works successfully in cooperation with museums such as The

Manchester Museum Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. Sited on Oxford Road ( A34) at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, ...

(with whom it ran a conference in 2006), Leicester Museums, the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

and many others, and has been developing sound relations with the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. Current government guidelines regarding human remains are sympathetic to genealogical descendants, the cultural community of origin, and the Country of Origin. They require some proof of cultural, spiritual and religious significance of the remains.

Claims are unlikely to be successful for any remains over 300 years old, and are unlikely to be considered for remains over 500 years old, except where a very close and continuous geographical, religious, spiritual and cultural link can be demonstrated.Cultural Property Advice
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References

External links

Honouring the Ancient Dead
Official website
Grateful dead
Article in the New Statesman

Article in The Guardian {{DEFAULTSORT:Honouring The Ancient Dead Modern pagan organisations based in the United Kingdom 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom Religious organizations established in 2004 Modern pagan organizations established in the 2000s