About the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology

The Centre for Human Bioarchaeology is part of the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (LAARC), and curates the Museum of London's extensive holdings of human remains.

The Museum of London is committed to maximising the research potential of all its holdings, and the key function of the Centre is to promote and support access to these collections.

The human remains are not available to the general public, however those with a bona fida research interest are welcome to contact the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology.

The Museum of London is committed to the ethical and responsible management of the human remains in its care. These individuals were uncovered during archaeological excavations within the City and Greater London area.  All of these sites have Home Office (now the Ministry of Justice) licences, allowing the human remains to be curated for study and future analysis.

Since 2003, over 10 000 individuals have been recorded onto the Wellcome Osteological Research Database. This unique tool is now available on-line, allowing researchers in the UK and abroad to access detailed information on the human skeletal remains archived by the Museum of London.

The Centre's main roles are: to curate and study the human remains in its care; encourage and monitor research by external scientists; update, promote and support the WORD database downloads.

The Centre also seeks to share its knowledge of bioarchaeology and past Londoners with the general public by running evening courses (e.g. Bare Bones) and open days at the Museum, in addition to offering outside study days to students, and other interested groups.