Review: Mummified - The stories behind Egyptian mummies in museums by Angela Stienne

This book was exceptional ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Stories of displacement, unwrapping, spectacle, and even consumption. Mummified: The stories behind Egyptian mummies in museums is not a book about the history and practice of mummification in ancient Egypt. Instead, it is the story of many ancient Egyptian human remains' second lives that lead to museums, store rooms and personal collections. Angela Stienne confronts the often traumatic second lives of Egyptian mummified human remains at the hands of Westerners in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Mummified by Angela Stienne is fundamentally a book about human kind and ethics, which is discussed through the often confronting and unsettling history of displacement, treatment and display of Egytian mummies (human remains). Ultimately, the book questions whether there is an ethical way to interact and display with Egyptian mummies in museum contexts . The example of using virtual unwrapping as a way of utilising technology for 'non-invasive' display is should not be taken at face value as a 'respectful'.

The entire time, Stienne is challenging you, the reader, to think critically about the history of mummies in England and France and to confront your own biases and experiences with mummies in museums. Why do mummies, human remains of ancient peoples, get displayed in museums today, how did they get there and when did we become so entitled as to imagine we deserve to have access and viewing rights of these bodies, these people. I appreciate the attention given to vocabulary, and even the basic ways that Egyptian mummies are referred to — they are human beings, but at a point in history, they became objects and curiosities. Egyptian mummies have a long history in popular culture, which has aided in the separation in the wider consciousness that they are human beings, and this book works very hard to re-humanise what has long become objects, artefacts, and curiosities.

The book digs deep into the roots of racism and dehumanisation of Egyptian mummies, from their forceful displacement during early expeditions in the 18th century, to the inhumane unwrapping and consumption of ancient Egyptian human remains, the development of phrenology, eugenics and the use of the ‘white’ mummy to push specific racial agendas. Stienne follows various specific mummies that are currently housed in various museums and insititutions in England and France, and traces their story and movement from their intended resting place to public display (or storeroom). I admire her inclusion of the difficult, unpleasant and violent treatment of people living and dead in history that has come from the worlds obsession with ancient Egypt.

If you are looking for a book on the history of Egyptian mummification, the process and beliefs of ancient Egyptian funerary practices, this is not the book for you. If you are interested in the ethics of displaying human remains in museums, or if you have ever wanted to know how something from a different continent has ended up in a museum with no clear and available information present, then this is certainly the book for you.

I thought the case studies and personal experiences Stienne included in this book were poignant and, at times, very hard to read. The idea of the ‘other’ viewed by westerners and white Europeans is a pervasive phenomenon that hasn’t gone away, and as Stienne includes towards the end of her book, thinking aliens built the pyramids isn’t funny and quirky, its racist, and frankly shouldn’t be an idea perpetuated in the 21st century.

This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2026, and if you have any interest in archaeology, history, museums or the history of human kind, I would recommend this book.

Review: Buried: An Alternative History of the First Millennium in Britain by Alice Roberts

★★★★☆ | Book 18 of 2024 — another wonderful book from Alice Roberts highlighting stories of the dead in Britain, and what bones and burials can tell us about past people.

Buried: An Alternative History of the First Millennium in Britain by osteoarchaeologist and professor Alice Roberts is the second book in her trilogy unpacking Britains history through skeletal remains. Following from Ancestors which focuses on the prehistory of Britain in seven burials, Buried instead focuses on Britain in the first millennium CE, through Roman Britain, contact with the Vikings and the spread of Christianity across the country. Roberts utilises modern and up to date evidence including skeletal remains, archaeological evidence, and DNA research to interrogate what we know about Britain during this period, and how we know it.

Probably because it spans a period where there is more available evidence from various contexts, Buried, spends more time discussing the more general historical environment, and contextualising the burials within a wider picture. The first chapter delves into a fascinating Roman cremation burial at Caerleon called the ‘Caerleon pipe burial’ named so because of the lead pipe sticking out of the top of the lead canister full of cremated remains that would have once stuck out of the ground. Roberts discusses the potential explanations for this unique burial, while also highlighting the historical period of Roman Britain more broadly, and the history more specifically of Caerleon. You finish the chapter feeling as though you were taken along for the ride whilst Roberts evaluated the various possibilities of the person buried, and why they had a lead pipe connecting their burial to the living world above them.

This is the general set up for each chapter focussing on a different part of the United Kingdom, and a different burial. The second chapter explored a Roman villa associated with numerous infant burials, and another chapter introduces the overall concept of ‘deviant burials’ which essentially means irregular or strange burials, and this concept is introduced with the headless skeletons found at Great Whelnetham. These burials were decapitated, sometimes with the skulls found between the legs, and some were even prone or face down. Roberts discusses Anglo-Saxon history in Britain (and even delves into the issues of using the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ in the first place) and broadens her discussion even further with the Staffordshire hoard and the issues archaeologists face when dealing with hoards of artefacts.

By the end of the book, after learning about Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon history, Viking connections and even the very first churchyards used as cemeteries, the reader truly feels well versed in the various and wide-ranging burial practices that were utilised in Britain during the first millennium. I think Roberts does a wonderful job at connecting the modern reader with the ancient inhabitants of Britain, reminding us that they, like us, were individuals who lived lives that didn’t necessarily fit a mould, as highlighted with the range of burial goods, and the numerous deviant burials. A wonderful addition to this book was the colour images insert, and the lovely illustrations at the beginning of each chapter that set the reader up for the kind of burials and artefacts featured in the coming section. As with Ancestors, I feel like having maps throughout, or one map at the beginning highlighting all the areas discussed would be really beneficial, especially for those not from Britain.

Overall, this was a fascinating, well-written and insightful analysis of Britain in the first millennium, utilising the most recent evidence and the authors incredible expertise.

Review: Ancestors: a Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials by Alice Roberts

★★★★☆.5 | Book 16 of 2024 — one for all my archaeology enthusiasts and those interested in what our bones can tell us.

Ancestors: a Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials is a focused yet detailed look at the prehistory of Britain, and particularly what burials, skeletons, ancient DNA and human remains can reveal about the long-spanning time from the Palaeolithic right up to the Iron Age. Professor Alice Roberts is an osteoarchaeologist and physical anthropologist, and she brings her expertise in all things skeletal to the fore in this book. Roberts takes the reader on a journey through time and around the United Kingdom, from the Red Lady of Paviland Cave dating to the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic ‘Tomb of the Otters’, to visiting Rushmore Estate and essentially doing archaeology of archaeology, and exploring the possibilities of modern technologies and ancient DNA.
Alice Roberts has included so much information in this one book, analysing seven burials from Britain’s prehistory, but going far beyond just the skeletons and remains themselves, it’s quite astonishing. The author doesn’t simply explain the remains, the person likely buried and what we can learn from them, but goes beyond this to consider wider themes such as sex and gender, burial rites and customs, and cultural beliefs. Various modern archaeological techniques are explained and utilised including isotopic analysis, radiocarbon dating, and ancient DNA and genome testing.

Beyond this, Roberts highlights issues related to each of these burials, including preservation bias and explanations of different taphonomic processes affecting remains and the archaeological record more broadly, issues of confirmation bias and those biases archaeologists of the 19th and 20th centuries brought to their works and analyses, as well as the simple fact that often, we can ever truly be sure of many things when it comes to archaeology, and the importance of delving into each potential explanation.

As someone not from Britain, I personally got a bit lost with the whereabouts of cities, areas, and sites mentioned, but perhaps there are maps in the physical copy that supplement this. Further, the only detraction for listening to the audiobook is not having any sort of imagery to help illustrate points made by Roberts, but overall I would still recommend the audiobook. Roberts has such a great way of narrating that makes you feel like she’s bringing you along for the ride! Additionally, the book begins at the Crick Institute in May 2019 and spends the first chapter discussing the exciting new ancient DNA works with the sequencing of a thousand ancient genomes. However, because of COVID-19, the project was placed on hold which meant that the new DNA information was perhaps not available for this book - here’s hoping the second book Buried includes some of what I am sure will be fascinating discoveries!

When reading through this book, you not only get incredible archaeological and historical information about these burials, but you also get a firm understanding of the modern context of the remains (i.e. where they are kept, if there is modern research happening on them etc.), as well as their historical context. This includes who initially found the remains, how they were excavated and handled, and broad contextual information about the find site, essentially bridging between their discovery, and this book.

Roberts’ self-aware and detailed discussion and analysis of the burials, the associated grave goods, culture and history (both ancient and modern) coalesce into a detailed, informative and enjoyable book that all lovers of prehistory and archaeology should read.