Some of the lessons this week depended a great deal on the evidence from the excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which we know erupted catastrophically in 79AD. One aspect of the display of this city and its excavated remains that always catches peoples attention concerns the plaster casts that have been made of the people who died in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Here is just a quick overview to show you how these plaster casts came to be. Currently, artifacts, videos and reconstructions (including the famous plaster casts) are on tour, traveling to several museums. British Museum Cincinnati Boston Denver But at the same time, the fact that these casts contain human remains within raises important questions about the ethics of displaying deceased individuals in a public setting. For example, we (at least to the extent that the popular media can be thought of as “we”) seem to be very troubled by images of the recent victims of the mass migration of Syrian refugees, especially the children. But at the same time, we don’t seem to be as troubled by equally young individuals from Egypt or the Inca Empire. So what’s the difference? Is there a difference? While you’re pondering the issue, read up on the Ethics of Display of Human Remains Depending on their opinion about the proper way to treat a dead person, people have differing opinions about this. So I ask: Should human remains be left on display like this? What stands to be learned by keeping them in such a way? Do you feel that this lessens the dignity of the human life that was lost? Do the pictures I’ve shown in your lessons serve the same purpose, or should these be kept out of view as well? Do you see a difference between what archaeologists have done at Pompeii an Herculaneum and what they have done with things like plastered skulls from Jericho or Egyptian mummies? Is time a relevant issue? Is the display of these dead somehow different because they died so long ago? In other words, would you be ok with displaying the recently deceased in this fashion? If not, is there some “cut off” date after which this practice is acceptable?
