Historical Burial Ground Discovered in London

An historical burial ground in central London has been discovered by archaeologists during the Crossrail project.  Thirteen skeletons believed to be up to 660 years old have been uncovered lying in two carefully laid out rows on the edge of Charterhouse Square at Farringdon.

Historical records suggest a burial ground in the Farringdon area was opened during the Black Death Plague in 1348.  Despite development in the area over the past centuries, the burial ground, described in historical records as “no man’s land”, has never been located. Records suggest up to 50,000 people may have been buried in less than three years in the emergency cemetery, which was used up until the 1500s.

Archaeologists have previously uncovered over 300 burials from the 1500s to 1700s at the New Cemetery near the site of the Bedlam Hospital at Liverpool Street.

Click here to read the full report from Crossrail.      

Death: A Self Portrait.

The Richard Harris Collection at the Wellcome Collection.

Thursday 15 November 2012 - Sunday 24 February 2013. 

A fascinating collection of memento mori, with over 300 exhibits displayed through five themed rooms, featuring works as diverse as a Renaissance painting, an etching by Goya, anatomical illustrations and papier-mâché sculptures.  It also boasts the stunning War Collection by Otto Dix and one of the earliest known versions of the Danse Macabre from the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493, alongside a range of contemporary artworks inspired by death.    

The collection contains items inspired by and celebrating death, amassed from countries across the globe over a 12 year period by Richard Harris, a former antiques dealer from Chicago.  The collection provides a unique opportunity to take a look at the many perspectives surrounding this eternally elusive subject. 

The venue also hosts a well-stocked book store selling the accompanying book by Richard Harris, and also offering a good selection of books and items in keeping with the theme.

The exhibition, which is free to enter, runs until 24 February 2013, and is well worth a visit.

For more information, see www.wellcomecollection.org/death.

 

The Piety Museum of Hungary

Piety Musem of Hungary

A fascinating find in Budapest is the Piety Museum of Hungary, a museum which illuminates the Hungarian way of death throughout recent history as well as hosting exhibitions on death around the world.

The museum hosts five exhibition rooms which display such diverse items as folk art and ethnographical material, mourning clothes and regalia, historical pictures and artefacts including death masks, coffins and urns, and three magnificent vintage hearses.

Established in 1991, the museum is one of a kind in Hungary - if not the world - and is well worth a visit not only for the Hungarian traditions, but also for the multicultural displays, ranging from pictures of Tibetan sky burial to Mexican Day of the Dead altars. 





Kerepesi Cemetery

It is located in the grounds of Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest, which is one of the oldest Christian cemeteries in Hungary and one of the largest open-air statue parks in Europe. It is beautifully preserved and hosts stunning arcades, tombs and monuments, and protected green areas with interesting wildlife.

If you’re going that way or are interested, you can find more information here. on the National Graveyard Site.

Death and Dying

Death, the one true certainty in life, still remains the ultimate mystery.

Our views of death and what ‘happens’ to us when we die, along with how we treat our dead, vary vastly across cultures and from person to person.  Some treat death with solemnity whilst others view death as a celebration of life and the beginning of our next big adventure.

Despite claims of ghosts and reports of near death experiences, there is no scientific proof for what happens to us after death.  Many of our answers come from the state or religion: nearly all cultures and major belief systems propound in some form a notion of life after death.

Many Christians for example, believe in an afterlife, heaven and hell and even resurrection – they believe Christ himself rose from the dead.  Other religions like Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation, a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, until through various means one becomes liberated.  Some traditions continue to talk to and honour their dead long after they are gone.   

All of these beliefs inform the way that people choose to live, to die, and to deal with their dead.

Ever-changing social and environmental factors influence our beliefs and attitudes towards death.  This directly affects the way we treat our dead and dying, and, more importantly, the way we live our lives.

This blog sets out to explore the various perceptions of death throughout time and across the globe.