A British museum has removed ancient Egyptian mummies from public display, citing a lack of ‘consent’ from the deceased.

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Scotland, is one of the country’s most popular cultural attractions, drawing more than 1.3 million visitors annually.

Its collections include Egyptian antiquities and mummified remains that have been exhibited for decades.

Egyptian priest named Nekht

Among the items taken off display were a painted coffin containing the remains of an Egyptian priest named Nekht.

A mummified male head, a right foot, and a right hand recovered from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt.

A father writes, ‘My daughter has a book on the ancient Egyptians and has been quite animated by it so we took her to Kelvingrove Museum to see their mummy.

Except, it’s no longer there

All human remains gone, with the following sign up in place of exhibits that have been there for years.’

The changes came to public attention after a visitor said he had taken his daughter to see an Egyptian mummy, only to discover that it was no longer there.

Mark of respect

He shared a photograph of a museum notice stating that the remains had been removed ‘as a mark of respect.’

Mummies have been removed from display at the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow because of a ‘lack of consent from the deceased individual’.

Modern Practice

A Glasgow Life spokesman said: ‘The removal of human remains from display at Glasgow Life museums reflects contemporary museum practice.

Glasgow Life, which operates the museum, said the move reflected contemporary museum practices, citing revised ethical guidelines published by the International Council of Museums in June. The guidelines call for human remains to be treated with dignity and respect.

The organization’s draft policy proposes that such exhibits should be displayed only with documented, informed consent from the deceased or, where appropriate, their descendants.

‘In the absence of such consent, we believe removing ancient Egyptian human remains from display is more respectful to the deceased individuals,’ a Glasgow Life spokesperson said.

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The decision drew criticism from Scottish Conservative politician Murdo Fraser, who described it as ‘woke madness.’

‘It is not possible to seek permission from those who died thousands of years ago,’ he said, adding that museums in Egypt continue to exhibit mummified remains.

Glasgow Life said it is also working to remove further archaeological human remains from Kelvingrove and plans to remove a coffin and mummified remains from the nearby St Mungo Museum afterwards.

The controversy follows a similar decision by Manchester Museum, which removed the 2,700-year-old mummified remains of an Egyptian woman named Asru in September after more than two centuries on public display.

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