The Mummy - Returned?

The mummified remains of an ancient Egyptian priest could be returned to Egypt after they were taken off display at Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow.

Glasgow Life, which runs the museum, said it had received a request in the last few days to repatriate the remains of the priest Nekht.

They had been on show in a painted coffin in the museum's Egyptian section.

Glasgow Life said it could not confirm who made the request.

Other remains taken off display

Human remains are no longer on show in the Egyptian section of Kelvingrove.

A mummified male head, a mummified right foot and a mummified right hand recovered from the Valley of the Kings in Luxor have also been removed from public view.

Work is under way to remove archaeological human remains from the History Discovery Centre and the Scotland's Early People gallery at Kelvingrove.

Glasgow Life said work would then begin to remove a coffin and mummified human remains on display at St Mungo Museum in the city centre.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said: "We intend to continue to remove human remains from display, as care and conservation for specific items and the whole collection allows. This is likely to take some time.

"A specific storage, with restricted access, was built to house human remains and other sensitive objects, in the second phase of Glasgow Museums Resource Centre and that is where these remains will eventually be held."

Why the remains are being removed

Last week Glasgow Life said removing human remains from display at its museums reflected contemporary museum practice.

It pointed to the International Council of Museums' revised code of ethics, published in June 2026.

The code says 'museums should uphold the inherent dignity of human remains and promote respect for their significance'.

A Glasgow Life spokesperson said: "The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afrikan Reparations 2025 report, Laying Ancestors To Rest, also raises ethical concerns about the display of ancient Egyptian human remains due to the consistent disregard of the potential wishes of the ancestors and the intention of the communities that originally laid them to rest.

"Glasgow Life Museums' draft human remains policy proposes that human remains should only be displayed where there is documented and informed consent from the deceased individual or, in appropriate circumstances, their descendants.

"In the absence of such consent, we believe removing ancient Egyptian human remains from display is more respectful to the deceased individuals."

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