A Scottish Museum Faces Backlash Over Mummy Removal

A museum in Scotland, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, has taken down its exhibition featuring an Egyptian mummy, citing a need for “consent from the deceased individual.”

In place of the coffin, a sign now reads, “We have removed human remains from this display as a mark of respect.”

The Telegraph reports that among the items taken off display are a coffin containing the remains of Nekht, a priest, a mummified right hand found in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, and a mummified male head along with a right foot.

Scottish Tory culture spokesperson Murdo Fraser criticized this decision, calling it “woke madness at its most ridiculous.”

He further stated, “Even Egyptian mummies are now being cancelled by a society so obsessed with modern sensibilities that it has lost all sense of perspective. People visit museums to learn about ancient civilizations, not to see history hidden away because it fails to meet today’s ideological standards.”

On social media, one user shared their experience after taking their daughter, who has a keen interest in ancient Egyptians, to the museum only to find out that the mummy was no longer there. They expressed disappointment, saying, “All ‘human remains’ gone with the following sign up in place of exhibits that have been there for years.”

Another commentator pointed out that the ancient Egyptians intended to be remembered eternally, and removing the mummy seems disrespectful. “The mummy gets to rot away in the non-climate controlled basement. How very respectful,” another user added.

According to the Daily Mail, this trend is continuing as the charity Glasgow Life is working on removing archaeological human remains from other exhibitions in the museum, including the History Discovery Centre and the Scotland’s Early People gallery. They also announced plans to remove additional remains from the St. Mungo Museum once work at Kelvingrove is completed.