"Human Remains" isn't specific enough

[Woodenwonder]

Last weekend had an impromptu wander around the world museum in Liverpool. (Fantastic and free). Anyway in the Egypt section it states that the next exhibit features human remains or words to that effect. I'm thinking a sarcophagus with a mummy inside. And yes that was there, a couple of examples of wrapped up mummies, tastefully and respectfully displayed. Turn the corner and there are 3+ corpses. Not wrapped up and obviously somewhat dessicated.

I'm not squeamish but I find looking at a collection of led out bodies (albeit 1000s of years old) a bit disrespectful for want of a better word. It made me feel really weird.

Yes these souls are long gone but I was not prepared to see them laid out in that way. I don't think I was even expecting full bodies.

Aibu to think the sign could have been a touch more descriptive before entering the room?

The museum is a fantastic place but I just felt a little rattled.

Interesting when clearly intelligent and eloquent posters such as @Noideawwhatsoccuring make excellent points, and OP comes back with something to simply shut down that conversation. PP nailed it but you know she's right but you can't see past your willful ignorance, but that's ok......

YABU

Was going to say this!!! I (mistakenly)thought catacoombs were just caves when we went. I was totally WTF when we went in but then really enjoyed it - although it was still weird. DH had thought it was because they ran out of space to bury the bodies in graves, but apparently it was actually a request of the then rich and famous - so their families could visit and actually see them. We went on a Sunday and there were Scicilian/Italian families there wearing what you would describe as funeral attire. Totally fascinating yet weird.

Human remains is one of those sanitised meaningless phrases that can be anything from hair to actual bodies.

What's wrong with just saying corpses, or dead people, or bodies on display in next room. It puts it in plain English.

don’t forget the safe space

What do you thing human remains means ? Maybe you need to stay at home wrapped in a security blanket.

I used to be fascinated by such exhibits but the more I think about it, the more I dislike human remains on show. The individuals were likely very religious and would have hated being on show for others - I’m not religious in any sense and believe that when we die, we just die, but it feels insanely disrespectful and I wonder how many people would be happy with one of their relatives being put on display for people to gawk at. I’m not ‘precious’ in any way, but I don’t like such exhibits any more.

I was brought up going to that museum from a very young age and absolutely loved it. OP, you and your children are likely to have to face much worse things as you go through life, and it is good practice to move out of your comfort zone a bit. YABU. And the most disrespectful thing about this story is your description of the dead people.

It was truly harrowing. We ummed and ahed about going as we were on our honeymoon BUT decided it was too huge a part of Japanese history to not visit. It's an incredible museum though we both felt physically and mentally drained by the end of it.

I agree with this (though not your OP), in that I don't feel it's right to excavate tombs and display the remains - as fascinating as it is, it's not what they intended for their bodies. Though obviously they very much don't care now.

@Woodenwonder I feel like that was not what they had in mind for the afterlife, given that dignity and respect in the next realm was such a big deal to the ancient Egyptians.
The very act of going to see such things contradicts your feeling. If you believe in dignity after death, you wouldn't visit such an exhibition no matter who had dug them up or how long ago.

museum display cases with human remains in are legally graves, and are treated as such by staff - the remains are totally respected.

Literally you can't move a box of human remains from one shelf to another in a museum store room without the right paperwork. Because the shelf is technically a grave at that point

@Woodenwonder I think I would have liked it to say "the next room contains a small number of entire human bodies" I think that's succinct.
They may be entire, but they are mummified, so look different. So, that trigger warning would not work for you either
A sign saying 'Read the history of Egyptian mummification processes and the effect they have on the body because they won't look like you expect them to and might discombobulate you' is more apt.

@Woodenwonder The full people just laying there prone got me a bit shooketh

Fairly pointless to display in the prone position - you would only see their back!

😂😂

@Mumoftwo1312 YABU - pepperami isn't cheap! 😂

OP, I think your reaction is somewhat natural, given how removed from reality our lives are in western civilisation. Your reaction may, however, give you pause to reflect on how lucky we are, that we aren’t faced with human remains daily, as a lot of people are, on this planet, right now…

If you walk into the ancient Egyptian section of a museum and see a sign that says human remains, you should expect to see mummified human remains, wrapped and unwrapped.

@Woodenwonder Don't go to Mexico in November for God's sake!

In the small village of Pomuch (state of Campeche) there is a very particular tradition that includes digging up the bones of the dead, which are then cleaned and added to each family's altar as a way of honoring them and having them present during the festivities.

I went to a museum in romania once that had several foetuses in jar, of various gestations which I actually did find a bit upsetting. They were miscarried ones and some had some obvious disfigurements (like anencephaly, extra/missing limbs - type things)

you're moving the conversation on though, from "human remains" sufficient remains to warn you of what to expect, (mn says it was) to should said remains be displayed on museums. That's a different AIBU 🤷‍♀️

Was this for me? If so, I guess I was, but I just thought that was natural part of the conversation to be honest.

Yes exactly this. As I say, I don’t have any religious or spiritual beliefs but these people would have felt them very acutely, so it feels so disrespectful to put them on display. Even people who were found in leaf bogs or murdered etc, give them the burial they deserve.

The Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle used to have a woman’s skeleton hanging outside. She had been accused of witchcraft during her life and her remains had been hung outside the museum. When the new Curator took over her took her down and had her buried in a local woodland. I really respected that, he put another human over the museum. Joan, the woman in question, would have been treated poorly in life, there’s no need to treat her poorly in death too for our own fascination and pleasure.

Right??

Yes.