Welcome to the Pathological Bodies Project
The Pathological Bodies Project is a blog dedicated to my doctorate project entitled ‘Pathological Bodies: Specimen Preservation, Death and Display in Britain, 18th -19th Centuries‘. The project aims to explore topics related to the display, ethics and conservation efforts of 18th – 19th century anatomical specimens in Britain. If you are interested in anything death related, including; archaeology, embalming, history of medicine and disease, then have a read of my blog posts or get in touch on Twitter (@pathbodies) or Instagram (pathologicalbodiesproject).
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FeaturedThe Archaeology of Assassination: Grief, Gore, and Glorification.
In this blog post I will look at three examples of assassination and the material that has been left behind from them. These objects and archaeological sites are poignant reminders of the grief the loved ones of those targeted felt upon their death, as well as the intense fear of those present when these assassinations… Read more
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FeaturedThe Victorians as Dark Tourists: Mortality, Morbidity, and the Macabre.
Dark tourism is an umbrella terms that usually refers to sites, archaeology, museums, and other aspects of heritage linked to the themes surrounding death, tragedy, and destruction. It is quite difficult to define what exactly counts as dark tourism, but usually it counts places such as medical museums, graveyards, disaster sites such as Chernobyl, or… Read more
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FeaturedCoffin Ships: Death whilst trying to escape death during the Irish Potato Famine
‘Coffin Ships’ were the name given to the emigration ships that carried members of the Irish population across the Atlantic to North America and Canada during the Irish famine. Emigrants were trying to flee from the devastating potato famine which began in 1845, when the potato crop began to fail from blight (P. infestans). Ireland’s… Read more
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FeaturedFrom Embalming to Eyeballs: Five (More) Fantastic Books About Death
A while back I did a blog post on five fantastic books about death. It was quite a popular post, and I thought there are so many more fantastic books out there that deserve some recognition! Despite coming from an archaeological background, my book collection extends to all aspects of death and dying. These aspects… Read more
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FeaturedThe Archaeology of Vaccination (18th- 20th Centuries): An Examination of Four Diseases
With the recent development of Covid-19 vaccines by Moderna, Oxford University and Pfizer, there seems to be little else on everyone’s mind. Vaccination against deadly diseases has a history that can been illustrated in archaeological examples left behind. Death rates from crude attempts at ‘variolation’ (the practice of grounding up smallpox scabs for inhalation or… Read more
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FeaturedDeath Folklore in Ireland: Three Examples of Death Omens in Irish Culture
Growing up in rural Catholic Ireland I often came in across traditional stories associated with death. As far back as primary school, I was warned all about the Banshee and her screams and attended traditional Irish wakes of loved ones. Death was an important part of our culture. I recently read Dr Marie Cassidy’s book… Read more
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FeaturedDeath and Sex: The Sexualisation of Victorian Women’s Mourning Attire
In 2014-2015, the Met Museum in New York held an exhibition entitled ‘Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire’. The exhibit displayed 30 pieces of Victorian mourning attire (for female mourners) dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibit gave a fascinating insight into the standards women were expected to uphold during… Read more
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FeaturedThe post-mortem fate of Marilyn Monroe: a case study of bodily integrity in death
When we think of the famous starlet, Marilyn Monroe, we think of the vivacious blond bombshell so full of life on our movie screens. Marilyn, born Norma Jean Mortensen, is by far one of the most well-known faces from the golden era of Hollywood. Like her life, her death was also full of controversy and… Read more
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Irish Women and Death Series: The Last Witch Killing in Ireland in 1895
When we think of the women murdered for being witches, we often associate these killings with events that happened hundreds of years ago – the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 usually come to mind for example, or the reign of terror committed by the ‘Witchfinder General’ Matthew Hopkins in the middle of the 17th century.… Read more
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