Mummified remains removed from public view could be returned to Egypt

Mummified Egyptian remains could be returned to Egypt after they were removed from display in a Scottish museum amid ethical concerns.

Human remains are no longer on show in the Egyptian section of Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, as it is “more respectful to the deceased individuals” in the absence of consent, the museum’s operator Glasgow Life said.

Glasgow Life confirmed that in the last few days it has received a request in the last few days to repatriate the remains of the priest Nekht, which were on show contained in a painted coffin, to Egypt.

It could not confirm who the request for repatriation has come from.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said: “We intend to continue to remove human remains from display, as care and conservation for specific items and the whole collection allows. This is likely to take some time.

“A specific storage, with restricted access, was built to house human remains and other sensitive objects, in the second phase of Glasgow Museums Resource Centre and that is where these remains will eventually be held.”

News of the request from Egypt was first reported in The Sunday Post.

A mummified male head, mummified right foot and mummified right hand recovered from Valley of the Kings, Luxor, have also been removed from public view.

Work to remove archaeological human remains from the History Discovery Centre and the Scotland’s Early People gallery at Kelvingrove is under way.

Glasgow Life said that once the task at Kelvingrove was completed, work would begin to remove a coffin and mummified human remains on display in St Mungo Museum in the city centre.

Last week Glasgow Life said that the removal of human remains from display at Glasgow Life museums reflected contemporary museum practice.

It pointed to the International Council of Museums’ revised code of ethics, published in June 2026, which says that “museums should uphold the inherent dignity of human remains and promote respect for their significance”.

A Glasgow Life spokesperson said: “The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations 2025 report, Laying Ancestors To Rest, also raises ethical concerns about the display of ancient Egyptian human remains due to the consistent disregard of the potential wishes of the ancestors and the intention of the communities that originally laid them to rest.

“Glasgow Life Museums’ draft human remains policy proposes that human remains should only be displayed where there is documented and informed consent from the deceased individual or, in appropriate circumstances, their descendants.

“In the absence of such consent, we believe removing ancient Egyptian human remains from display is more respectful to the deceased individuals.”