By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A prominent Scottish museum has removed several ancient Egyptian mummies from public exhibition because the individuals never provided documented consent to have their remains displayed, drawing criticism from politicians and educators who argue that the decision places modern ethical standards above historical education.
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow has withdrawn the remains of an Egyptian priest named Nekht, along with a mummified male head, right foot and right hand recovered from Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Museum officials said the changes reflect updated ethical guidance governing the treatment of human remains in public collections.
The decision became public after visitors discovered signs replacing exhibits that had been displayed for years. One notice explained that the museum had removed human remains “as a mark of respect,” according to an Oct. 22 report by STV News.
Glasgow Life, the charitable organization responsible for managing the museum, said its proposed Human Remains Policy would permit public exhibitions only when appropriate consent could be established.
“Glasgow Life Museums’ draft Human Remains Policy proposes that human remains should only be displayed where there is documented and informed consent from the deceased individual or, in appropriate circumstances, their descendants,” a spokesperson said.
“In the absence of such consent, we believe removing ancient Egyptian human remains from display is more respectful to the deceased individuals.”
Among the removed artifacts is a painted coffin containing the remains of Nekht, an Egyptian priest believed to have lived between 1985 and 1797 B.C. His remains were excavated at Beni Hasan in Middle Egypt during the early 20th century and donated to Glasgow in 1923.
The museum also removed a mummified hand recovered from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, along with a separate male head and right foot. The artifacts had provided visitors with opportunities to examine ancient Egyptian burial practices and the civilization’s beliefs about death and the afterlife.
The changes prompted objections from Scottish Conservative politicians, including Murdo Fraser, the party’s culture spokesman, who questioned the practicality of obtaining consent from individuals who died thousands of years ago.
“This is woke madness at its most ridiculous. Even Egyptian mummies are now being cancelled by a society so obsessed with modern sensibilities that it has lost all sense of perspective,” Fraser said.
“People visit museums to learn about ancient civilisations, not to see history hidden away because it fails to meet today’s ideological standards.”
Fraser argued that museums have a responsibility to preserve public access to historical artifacts rather than remove them in response to changing cultural expectations.
“Glasgow’s museums should be showcasing our history, not quietly removing it to appease the latest trend in political correctness.”
Criticism also came from Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education and a former adviser to the British prime minister’s policy unit.
McGovern described the decision as “more virtue-signalling, woke nonsense” and questioned the educational consequences of removing ancient remains from public view.
“It represents the triumph of educational stupidity and ignorance. It is not possible to seek permission from those who died thousands of years ago,” he said, according to an Oct. 22 report examining the controversy.
The museum’s decision follows revisions to the International Council of Museums’ Code of Ethics in June 2026. The updated guidance emphasizes the responsibility of museums to uphold the inherent dignity of human remains and respect their cultural and historical significance.
However, the international guidelines do not explicitly require museums to remove all human remains from exhibition. Individual institutions retain discretion over how to interpret and implement the recommendations.
Professor Steph Scholten, a member of the council’s ethics committee, explained that the revised standards encourage museums to evaluate their responsibilities rather than mandate a single approach.
“What the code of ethics puts forward is that these topics need careful consideration and decision making, they do not suggest one fixed outcome,” Scholten said.
“The code of ethics does not prescribe that all human remains should be taken of display.”
The policy changes also follow a 2025 report from the British parliamentary All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations, which called for an end to the public display of Egyptian mummies and other ancestral human remains.
The report argued that exhibiting ancient bodies without permission demonstrated a “disregard of the potential wishes of the ancestors and the intention of the communities that originally laid them to rest.”
It also characterized the display of Egyptian remains in British institutions as evidence of museums’ historical involvement in colonial exploitation.
Glasgow Life officials said additional archaeological human remains would be removed from the History Discovery Centre and Scotland’s Early People gallery at Kelvingrove. Similar changes are being implemented at the city’s St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, where a coffin and mummified remains are being withdrawn.
Another Glasgow institution, the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow, has adopted a different approach to the same ethical concerns.
Rather than removing its ancient Egyptian mummy from the exhibition entirely, the Hunterian covered the remains of Lady Shep-En-Hor with a specially designed textile, preventing visitors from viewing the body while allowing the decorated sarcophagus to remain on display.
Museum officials said consultations with Egyptologists led them to conclude that the woman deserved privacy in death. The sarcophagus has been displayed almost continuously since 1820 and remains an example of ancient Egyptian funerary art.
According to Scottish Legal News, the Hunterian’s decision followed concerns about whether the remains inside the coffin belonged to the individual identified on its exterior, as historical excavators sometimes transferred bodies between burial containers.
Both Glasgow institutions have indicated that they would consider repatriation requests from appropriate countries or organizations.
The changes are not being adopted uniformly across Scotland. National Museums Scotland has said it is not currently considering changes to the exhibition of human remains in its collections, which include archaeological specimens from Scotland and mummified bodies from Egypt and Peru.
Supporters of the Glasgow decisions argue that museums should reassess practices involving the public display of human bodies, particularly when those remains were collected during periods of colonial expansion or without consideration for the deceased.
Claire Gilmour, chair of Egyptology Scotland, supported the changes as consistent with evolving museum ethics. She also noted that removing ancient remains from public display can reduce exposure to light and humidity, potentially improving their long-term preservation.
However, Gilmour emphasized the importance of transparency about how remains are stored, studied and cared for, acknowledging that museum exhibitions can encourage public interest in archaeology and ancient civilizations.
Kelvingrove, which opened in 1901 and attracts more than 1.3 million visitors annually, has long featured Egyptian antiquities among its collections.
The controversy highlights an ongoing disagreement over how museums should balance the preservation and public exhibition of historical human remains with contemporary ethical considerations. While Kelvingrove officials maintain that their approach demonstrates respect for the deceased, critics argue that removing the exhibits limits opportunities for visitors to learn directly from archaeological discoveries.
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