Social media is fuelling a growing trade in human skulls, bones, and skin products in the UK, raising fears of a new era of grave-robbing. Experts are calling for a crackdown on the unregulated market, which they say leaves the buying and selling of human remains in a legal grey zone.
Henry Scragg, owner of Curiosities from the 5th Corner in Essex, sells items including a monthly human skull subscription and mummified body parts. Speaking in a recent YouTube interview, he said he accepts ‘anything’ as long as it is ethically sourced. His shop’s website markets human leather masks and wallets alongside foetal specimens.
Dame Sue Black, a leading forensic scientist, warned that the lack of regulation allows remains to be stolen from crypts and graveyards. ‘If you can make the sale of a bird’s nest illegal, surely to goodness you can make the sale of a human body illegal,’ she said. UK law makes desecrating a grave an offence, but human remains are not considered property, so possession or sale may not be automatically criminal.
Dr Trish Biers of the University of Cambridge leads a BABAO taskforce that has blocked over 200 sales in the past five years. She noted a rise in skulls described as ‘archaeological’, suggesting recent exhumation. ‘Social media has completely changed the market. It’s not illegal and that’s the problem,’ she said.
Mattaeus Ball, a Reading-based trader, recently announced he would stop dealing in human remains due to ‘grave-robbed’ pieces entering the market. The Guardian showed images of ten skulls sold online to experts; several showed signs of burial, root damage, or organic matter, raising further ethical concerns.
