Scottish museum removes ANOTHER mummy from display to ‘protect its privacy’

The publicly funded institution, part of Glasgow University, first draped the body in a conservation-grade textile called Tyvek in August 2025, preventing visitors from seeing the ancient wrappings beneath.

Now, the museum has confirmed it will keep the remains concealed under the textile.

The museum said: “The Hunterian takes the view that the Lady Shep-En-Hor deserves privacy in death, while retaining its commitment to providing visitors, students and staff with an accessible introduction to the importance of Ancient Egyptian culture for an understanding of the world’s history.”

In a later statement, a spokesman for the Hunterian said: “It is at The Hunterian’s discretion to make decisions about displays and narratives in its public venues.

“After considerable consideration of the different options, as outlined in the statement, there was broad consensus that this was the preferred course of action to be taken by The Hunterian.

“The wrapped remains were covered in August 2025, using a conservation-grade textile-like material called Tyvek.”

The move followed a review of how the institution handles foreign human remains, driven by its ambition to become a “more ethical” institution.

It follows an earlier decision by Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to withdraw all mummified remains from its popular Egyptian hall entirely.

Glasgow Life, the council-funded charitable body that runs Kelvingrove, cited the “absence of consent from the deceased individual or their ancestors” as justification for the removal.

Among the items taken off display were a painted coffin holding the remains of the priest Nekht, who is believed to have lived between 1985 and 1797 BC, along with a mummified male head, a mummified right hand retrieved from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, and a mummified foot.

A Glasgow Life spokesperson said: “We believe removing ancient Egyptian human remains from display is more respectful to the deceased individuals.”

The remains are now housed at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre in Nitshill, a vast warehouse containing roughly 1.4 million objects, with specialist storage facilities for human remains.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from academics. Robert Thombs, emeritus professor of French history at the University of Cambridge, told The Telegraph: “I think it’s absolutely scandalous given these organisations are funded by the taxpayer.”

He argued that museums were increasingly behaving as “campaigning organisations” rather than places of learning, warning that such policies would render “areas of the past invisible” to ordinary people.

Professor Thombs added: “As for children, seeing a mummy is the heart of the experience. If you’re going to get people interested in the past, you need to see these things.”

Eminent historian Sir Tom Devine, Fraser Professor Emeritus of Scottish History at the University of Edinburgh, offered a different perspective.

He told the Mail: “In the case of human remains where there is no possibility of seeking permission from living relatives, I see no ‘ethical problem’ in displaying mummies as long as they are treated with respect and the displays are managed by qualified personnel in established museums.”

The Glasgow museums’ actions are part of a wider shift across Britain.

Last month, Manchester Museum withdrew the 2,700-year-old mummified remains of an Egyptian woman called Asru, stating that the move “aligns most closely with what we understand about her own wishes.”

The International Council of Museums revised its ethics code in June, urging institutions to “uphold the inherent dignity of human remains.”

Prof Steph Scholten, who sits on the Icom ethics committee, stressed that the code did not prescribe a single outcome, saying: “These topics need careful consideration and decision-making.”

National Museums Scotland has taken a markedly different approach, confirming it has no plans to alter its display of mummified remains from Egypt and Peru.

Meanwhile, the Hunterian also holds a plaster cast of Robert the Bruce’s skull and one of his toe bones, both of which remain on open display, the policy applying only to remains from outside the UK.