BCN´s à rsberetning 2012.pdf - Bevaringscenter Nordjylland

ate, what ailed them, what they looked like, and
so much more. Argument for keeping all the
excavated osteological material in storage, and
maintaining them in good condition, is that in
the future we might have even more means and
methods of learning from them. Palaeopathological
and anthropological sciences have taken
great leaps in the resent decades.
All these aspects and different opinions
should be taken into consideration when museum
professionals are dealing with human
remains, though conservators rarely need to
concern themselves with the osteological aspects.
The knowledge of how to treat objects
made of bone, can also be applied on human
skeletons and bone material. Usually commonsense
should be enough to tell, how to treat the
remains with due respect.
As an example, how this particular conservator
came in contact with human remains at the
BCN, we have the case of the Tollestrup Mose
bog skeleton from the collection of Vendsyssel
Historiske Museum. The female skeleton had
already been excavated from a bog in the 1940’s
and stored ever since, apparently without much
cleaning and in the original packaging. She
came to the workshop to be cleaned, put together,
and set in anatomically correct order for
the upcoming exhibition.
Almost all of the bones were present and in
a relatively good condition. Most of the acidic
turf could be brushed off with just soft brushes.
Unfortunately some of the bones had developed
a speckled moldy surface due to, either
being backed while still moist or some humidity
issues during their long stay in the storage.
Luckily this problem was just on the surface
and mainly aesthetic. The skull was broken
into several pieces and had most likely cracked
due to the pressure in the bog. Pieces could still
be fitted together and a relatively whole skull
could be constructed by gluing them together.
The main part of the job was to invent functional
packaging for the skeleton. The body had
to be packed in an anatomically correct position
so that the museum personnel putting up
the exhibition could easily unpack and assemble
it again. The solution was to photograph
each significant part of the anatomy, pack it
in the right order into separate boxes, and attach
the photo on the lid of the container. The
bones were also labeled to help future assembly
and all the materials used were acid free and
selected so they will not damage the delicate
surface of the bone.
Sometimes when working with mere objects,
it is easy to forget that people in the past
were just like us. They had their own worries,
moments of happiness, daily duties, their ordinary
lives. When you come in contact with
the actual person from the past you might take
a pause to imagine what their life might have
been like. Even though science is not yet advanced
enough to make the skeletons speak, it
might give them a voice that can give us valuable
information of the past we work so hard to
bring back to life.
The skeleton was packed
in anatomical order in
acid free boxes and paper.
Photos of the content was
taped on the lid of each
box. Photo: Nora Salonen.
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