In 2009, English Heritage, the Church of England and the Ministry of Justice proposed the formation of the Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Burials in England (APABE), which would replace a previous panel, the Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Christian Burials in England (APACBE). The function of this panel would be to provide a single source of advice on all aspects of archaeological burials over 100 years old in England. The functions of the proposed panel were: to support professionals involved in the treatment of archaeological human remains in interpreting the guidance documents issued in 2005 by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS, see 'Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums') and English Heritage/Church of England ('Guidance for Best Practice for Treatment of Human Remains Excavated From Christian Burial Grounds in England'); to provide casework advice; and to promulgate new guidance where needed.
This consultation asked for comments on this proposal, and in particular on:
The consultation ran from February–May 2009 on the English Heritage website.
A total of 35 consultation responses were received. They may be viewed online.
The overwhelming majority of respondents were supportive of the setting-up of a single source of advice by the three organisations with statutory responsibilities for archaeological burials. However several commentators raised concerns to do with remit, and in particular whether the new panel should endeavour to provide advice to museums professionals, as well as those working with archaeological human remains in other sectors, or whether that should be left to other organisations, such as Museums Human Remains Subject Specialist Network. Our feeling was that many ethical, scientific and practical issues in the treatment of ancient human remains are generic so it seemed unproductive to erect divisions between the 'museums' and the 'archaeological' spheres regarding advice on human remains. In order to enable the panel to give effective advice to all relevant professionals, including those in the museums sector, we have endeavoured to ensure that the panel has sufficient membership from those with museums experience and backgrounds. The Chair of the Museums Human Remains Subject Specialist Network was also elected to the panel to facilitate direct collaboration between APABE and the SSN.
Respondents expressed a diversity of views on the composition of the new panel. A key underlying issue is whether, other than representatives of the three sponsoring organisations, panel members should be appointed on the basis of their own personal skills and experience or as representatives of specific organisations, and if the latter which organisations should be represented.
A great many people have an interest in the past in general, and burial archaeology in particular, including many religious groups, non-religious organisations such as humanists, historical and archaeological societies. We felt that it would be very difficult to obtain adequate and even-handed representation of this wide range of organisations without the panel becoming unfeasibly large and unwieldy. We therefore decided to appoint members on the basis of their own personal background and experience rather than select representatives of organisations. We compiled the membership so that the panel collectively had broad experience of dealing with human remains in a variety of different professional settings and circumstances.
Compiled by Simon Mays, English Heritage.
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