Exclusive:Edinburgh University in 'confidential' talks to repatriate skulls to Africa

Malcolm MacCallum, a curator and researcher at the university’s Anatomical Museum, said there have been “quite a few” conversations with both individuals and governments.

The museum holds 185 skulls brought from Africa to Edinburgh as a result of colonial activity, which are part of a wider collection of nearly 2,000 skulls.

Ash Charlton, a PhD student at the university who has researched the African skulls, said many of the remains were stolen or “coercively taken without consent”.

Part of the collection came from the Edinburgh Phrenological Society, which was founded in 1820. Phrenology is the discredited study of skull shapes and sizes as a supposed indicator of character, intelligence or racial difference.

Monday to Saturday, our daily newsletter brings you the best stories

Speaking at a Royal Society of Edinburgh event, Ms Charlton said many of the skulls were “somewhat if not entirely anonymous”. Just four are connected to named individuals, although two of these identifications are believed to be false.

The Anatomical Museum - which contains some 12,000 objects, including the skeleton of the serial killer William Burke - has a long history of repatriating remains dating back to 1947, when a skull was returned to Ceylon, or present day Sri Lanka.

In 2023, the remains of four tribal warriors killed nearly 150 years ago were repatriated to Taiwan. Ms Charlton said there had so far been no documented repatriation of African remains from the museum.

However, Mr MacCallum, who took part in a question-and-answer session after the event, said conversations had taken place.

"The African skulls, we have had quite a few conversations with various individuals and some governments as well,” he said. “We're keeping that confidential.”

He added: "What we try to do is we work, where we can, with government officials from that country, and it's a long period of negotiation, conversation. The delay isn't usually from the university's side, it's usually people trying to think what they want to do with their ancestors."

He highlighted the recent repatriation to Taiwan. "The British Government does not recognise Taiwan as a country, so we were working with the Chinese Government, and it was all getting very political, complicated,” Mr MacCallum said.

"We find every single repatriation is different, and the African potential repatriation will be no different from that. We just have to take it on a case-by-case basis when it comes in."

He paid tribute to Ms Charlton's research, adding: "The stuff that she has found will facilitate a much easier repatriation when that happens.”

More generally, he told the event the university was having “a lot of conversations at the moment with a lot of communities”, adding: "There undoubtedly will be many more repatriations in the coming years, probably multiple repatriations a year."

A university spokeswoman said: “We take our duty of care very seriously and all remains in our collections are looked after with the upmost dignity and respect.

“We have teams of experts responsible for ensuring our historically significant archives are preserved, as well as being accessible for non-invasive research projects and outreach initiatives that help to enhance our understanding of the world.

“We are committed to learning lessons from our past, including addressing our colonial legacy and its contemporary impact. We work with many communities around the world to engage with our collections and facilitate the return of remains and artefacts.”