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Surgeons’ Hall Museum holds a complex medical human remains collection, one of the largest and most significant of its kind in the world. Much of the collection was acquired before modern standards of consent and documentation, and the records that survive were shaped around pathology, diagnosis and the interests of those who assembled the collection rather than the individuals represented within it.
This two year project will improve what the Museum knows about this collection, including the people in it. Working through historic catalogues, medical case notes, College and Museum minutes and archival records, you will investigate origins, acquisition contexts and life histories of these people, and integrate your findings into the Museum’s Collections Management System. Your research will inform catalogue records, future interpretation and displays, published listings, and the Museum’s preparedness for any future return of collections.
In March 2026, the College’s Trustees approved a new Human Remains in Collections Policy, developed with an expert panel drawn from across the UK and Ireland, committing the Museum to provenance research, transparency, community engagement and readiness for return. This post directly supports the work to put this policy into practice.
You will report to the Curator and be supported by the Museum’s Provenance Research Working Group, which brings together colleagues from collections, conservation, archives, learning and senior leadership, including a specialist Human Remains Conservator. This work involves sustained engagement with sensitive and sometimes distressing material, and supervision, peer support and training are built into the post.
In the final six months you will work on site with three Scottish university medical collections in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, reviewing and enhancing their documentation, and will offer short consultancy visits to smaller Scottish museums holding human remains. The project concludes with a publication and a national conference at Surgeons’ Hall, sharing the methods and findings across the sector.
The role is based in Edinburgh, with travel to partner institutions in the final phase. Reasonable travel and accommodation costs are met by the project.