It was a news story that went round the world, with museum bosses in Scotland roundly mocked.
asserted
bosses → go → Scotland
But now it has emerged that an ancient mummy removed from public view could be returned to Egypt.
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mummy → emerge → Egypt
Egyptian authorities have asked for the repatriation of the mummified remains of the priest Nekht, which were recently removed from Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow because of a lack of ‘informed consent from the deceased individual’.
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which → ask → individual
But Campaign for Real Education chairman Chris McGovern warned that repatriation of the Egyptian mummy would set a ‘dangerous precedent’.
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repatriation → warn → precedent
It came as museum chiefs revealed the bones of a Scottish child and adult from the Bronze Age are also due to be removed from display at Kelvingrove.
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bones → come → Kelvingrove
The museum is operated by Glasgow Life, a charitable organisation that manages Glasgow City Council’s cultural and sporting assets.
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that → operate → assets
Egyptian authorities have asked for the repatriation of the mummified remains of the priest Nekht
The remains were recently removed from Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow
The removal of the 4,000-year-old mummified remains of the priest Nekht has led Egyptian authorities to request their repatriation.
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removal → ask → repatriation
GEM contains more than 100,000 items, including the contents of the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun – notably his iconic golden mask.
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GEM → contain → king
Glasgow Life confirmed: ‘We have received a request in the last few days to repatriate the remains to Egypt.
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We → confirm → Egypt
‘Glasgow has a well-established process for repatriation requests.
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Glasgow → have → requests
We will follow this process to guide our next steps.’
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We → follow → steps
But the potential repatriation of the mummy that had been on display at Kelvingrove for decades was criticised by Mr McGovern, a former adviser to the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street.
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that → criticise → Street
He said: ‘The repatriation of Nekht’s remains to Egypt will impoverish Scottish education and it sets a dangerous precedent.
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it → say → precedent
‘Will the next step be to repatriate to Israel those bones of Saint Andrew that are held in St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh?
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that → repatriate → Cathedral
‘Should the bones of Saint Valentine that are held in a Glasgow church now be repatriated to Italy?’
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that → hold → Italy
The Hunterian Museum, part of Glasgow University, has also removed from display the mummified remains of Lady Shep-en-hor, an Egyptian woman whose coffin was originally found in Thebes.
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coffin → remove → Thebes
Museum chiefs have also issued a statement regarding the bones of a child and adult found in a Bronze Age grave at Bonhill, Dunbartonshire, which are currently exhibited at Kelvingrove.
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which → issue → Kelvingrove
Glasgow Life said: ‘It is our intention to remove these remains from display at a future date.
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It → say → date
A specific storage, with restricted access, was built to house human remains and other sensitive objects in the second phase of Glasgow Museums Resource Centre and that is where these remains will be held.’
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remains → restrict → Museums
But Mr McGovern responded: ‘The purpose of museums is to educate, not to promote woke ideology.
‘Removing Bronze Age skeletal remains is an anti-educational decision that hides away an important part of Scottish national identity.’
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that → respond → identity
Museum chiefs revealed the bones of a Scottish child and adult from the Bronze Age are also due to be removed from display
Scottish Conservative culture spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘SNP-run Glasgow Life has completely lost the plot if it believes the answer to modern-day sensitivities is to start hiding away history.
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answer → reveal → history
‘What’s next?
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What → ’ → ?
Will museums have to empty their shelves of anything that someone, somewhere might find offensive?
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someone → have → anything
‘These remains have survived for thousands of years and are an important part of our shared history.
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remains → survive → history
‘Museums should be educating the public, not pandering to increasingly ridiculous calls for censorship.
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Museums → educate → censorship
Nekht is thought to have lived at some point between 1985 and 1797BC and was excavated at Beni Hasan in Middle Egypt during digs carried out in the early 20th century.
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Nekht → think → century
The remains were donated to the city of Glasgow in 1923.
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remains → donate → 1923
Lady Shep-en-hor’s ornate sarcophagus has been described as a ‘fine work of late period ancient Egyptian funerary art’.
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sarcophagus → describe → art
Lady Shep-En-Hor has never been removed from the coffin but has been X-rayed and CT scanned in the last 50 years.
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Hor → remove → years
The row came after the International Council of Museums (Icom) revised its code of ethics in June, recommending that museums should ‘uphold the inherent dignity of human remains and promote respect for their significance’.
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museums → come → significance
It adds: ‘Decisions about these items and collections should be made in collaboration with descendants or communities from which they originate, if known.’
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they → add → which
The Aporia
