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Mummification in Bronze Age Britain

Text Mummification in Bronze Age Britain

TLF ID M011194

This resource is about the discovery of two Bronze Age mummies in Britain. It describes the discovery by a team of archaeologists of the bodies of a male and a female under the floor of a prehistoric house on the Hebridean Island of South Uist. It presents the evidence for mummification following investigations using archaeological methods, and the possible reasons for mummifying the bodies, and discusses the evidence of rituals at the site.

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Educational details

Educational value
  • This resource is valuable for addressing the Australian Curriculum: History content description in year 7 relating to methods and sources used to investigate a historical mystery, such as the analysis of unidentified human remains. Its importance lies in being the first discovery of mummies in Britain, identified as belonging to the Bronze Age, which affects current knowledge about key aspects of life and death in prehistoric Britain.
  • The resource is valuable for demonstrating the methods used by the archaeologists to establish the date of the bodies and whether they had been mummified. Radiocarbon dating was used to establish the date of the bodies, and the modern forensic technique of measuring the demineralisation of the bones suggested the bodies had been preserved by being placed in the peat bog.
  • The resource may also make a contribution to students attaining the history achievement standards in year 10 in relation to different interpretations of the past and recognising the evidence used to support these interpretations. It has some relevance to the literacy capability and the critical and creative thinking capability.
Year level

7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12

Topics Bronze Age Archaeology Embalming British history
Learning area
  • History

Other details

Contributors
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Organization: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Address: UNITED KINGDOM
  • URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk
  • Publisher
  • Name: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Organization: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: UNITED KINGDOM
  • URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Text
  • Image
Rights
  • Resource: BBC © 2012, except where indicated otherwise. You may download, copy and communicate this material for free, and use it in digital and hardcopy format for non-commercial educational use in Australian schools and TAFE institutions, provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material. 'Interactive' image: © Education Services Australia Limited 2012. You may copy, communicate and adapt this image for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the image.