Understanding the reasons for the use of historical anatomical skeleton collections for research in the US.

While scientists generally like to see their work as politically neutral, the nature of research carried out generally reflects the social and moral norms of the day, and these change over time. In recent years there has been an increasing discussion of the use of Human skeletal remains from historical collections in research, particularly as many such remains originally belonged to members of marginalised communities and other non-consenting individuals. A central part of this debate is whether scientists should continue to use such skeletons, and what should be done with them if it is determined that their continued use is unethical. Many such collections were amassed via processes which would be considered unethical today, such as the 'Anatomy Acts' in the US, which were passed by various state legislatures, and which allowed for the dissection and curation of unclaimed Human remains, often with a relatively short window of opportunity for the claiming of remains. This disproportionately affected poor and marginalised communities, who were often unable to afford to claim and bury the remains of their relatives within the short time available. 

In a paper published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology on 27 March 2026, Allyson Simon and Nicholas Passalacqua of the Department of Anthropology at The Ohio State University, and Mark Hubbe of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, present a review of research which has used Human remains from four Historical Anthropological Skeletal Collections, with a view to understanding current and past standards and social values in biological anthropology.

The use of historical anthropological skeletal collections has played a key role in the field of biological anthropology, with techniques such as the methods for estimating sex, age, stature, and population affinity, having first been developed using material from such collections. Despite this, until relatively recently little-or-no consideration was given to the lived experiences of the people whose remains found their way into such collections, or of the circumstances under which they got there. Today, there are ongoing discussions about the continued use and curation of these skeletons, with some scholars calling for such collections to be permanently dismantled and the remains held in them buried or cremated, while others argue that these are still vital resources that it will not be possible to replace once they are gone, and that they should therefore continue to be preserved.

Historical anatomical skeleton collections often include records of individuals' names, sex, age, cause of death, and other identifying information, presenting a unique set of ethical considerations. Because of this, Simon et al. felt it was important to distinguish between collections where such information has been preserved and those where it has not. They note that some previous ethical studies have lumped the two types of collections together, thereby ignoring some nuanced differences in both the demographics of these collections, and the way in which they are used by researchers. They further note that the views of both the scientific and non-scientific communities should be taken into account when determining the potential benefits of any research involving such collections.

Understanding how Human remains in historical collections have been used by researchers in the past, as well as how they are used today is an important step in evaluating the ethical dilemmas relating to these collections. When skeletons have been used in the development and validation of osteological methods without any consideration of the lived experiences of those individuals, there is a danger of those individuals being reduced to their value as osteological specimens, with their lives and individual identities being lost. It has also been noted that the value of studies based upon such collections might be lower than expected, as the way in which collections acquired skeletons makes the collections unrepresentative of the wider population. However, few previous studies have asked whether those methodological studies are ethically appropriate. Anthropological studies, in contrast, focus primarily on the lifetime experiences of the individuals involved, and often engage with current social theory. While such studies cannot undo past injustices, they do tend to re-emphasise the fact that the remains involved were once living people.

Understanding the aims of research is an important way of understanding the communities which that research serves, and can act as a proxy for the social perspective of the researchers. The Ghent Phrenological Collection comprised about 200 skulls transferred from the prison in Ghent, Belgium, to the University Museum in the same city in 1845. For the next century it was used as both a teaching aid and a research tool. However, much of the research for which the skulls were used was concentrated on the now discredited fields of eugenics and racial science, and some of that research was used to justify the atrocities of the Holocaust. Because of this the collection was felt to have become tainted by association, and following the Second World War the decision was taken to cremate the remains. However, it has been suggested that this could be seen as another act of violence against the people whose remains were held in the collection, as the method of disposal was chosen without reference to their wishes or the cultural norms of the societies which produced them.

Simon et al. believe that the debate around the continuing use of human remains from historical collections should be informed by accurate information on the uses to which they are put by researchers. To this end, they reviewed articles published in academic journals between 1920 and 2024, and the abstracts of presentations from the annual conferences of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences between 2014 and 2024, which referenced samples from four historical anthropological collections, the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection held by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection held by the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the W. Montague Cobb Human Skeletal Collection held by Howard University, and the George S. Huntington Anatomical Collection, also held by the Smithsonian Museum.

Deathmask, skull, and cadaver photograph of number 709 from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection. Hunt & Albanese (2004).

These publications were analysed to determine the aims of the research being carried out in each case, with the studies being divided into five categories, 'anthropological' research, which sought to understand past human lives and experiences, often shaped by social theory, 'comparative' studies, in which specimens from one or more of the collections were compared to another sample in order to make an assessment of that sample, 'methodological' studies, concerned with the development, validation, and refinement of osteological methods and procedures for data collection and analysis, 'clinical' studies which aimed to contribute to medical knowledge and clinical practice, and 'other' studies, where the aims of the research could not be fit into one of the other categories, or could not be determined at all. These categories were not exclusive, in some cases studies were placed into more than one category.

Based upon this, Simon et al. attempted to answer four questions, (1) whether research with methodological aims was becoming less common, (2) whether work with anthropological aims was becoming more common, (3) whether different forms of research were rewarded better in terms of citations by other authors, and (4) how the preponderance of different types of research varied across journals.

The Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection and the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection were the most commonly used in both journal articles and conference abstracts. Twelve percent of journal articles used samples from more than one of the studied collections, while 32% used samples from at least one of the studied collections, plus samples from another collection, with the most commonly cited being the Knoxville Donated Skeletal Collection at the University of Tennessee. 

Collection usage based upon (a) journal articles, (b) American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts, and (c) American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts. Simon et al. (2026).

The majority of both research papers and conference abstracts had methodological aims. Anthropological aims were most common in the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts, but almost absent from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts. 

The oldest journal article was from 1920, and was a paper by Thomas Wingate Todd discussing ageing of the pubic symphysis in individuals in the Hamman-Todd Collection.

Ossa innominata of specimen 571, male, white, age sixty-nine. An illustration from Thomas Wingate Todd's 1920 paper Age changes in the pubic bone. I. The male white pubis. At the time Todd was an advocate of the theory of racial determinism, which held that education and environment were less important than heredity in development, but in later life came to reject these ideas. Todd (1920).

Methodological aims became less common over the 124 years of the study, but still represent the largest category, representing 69% of all journal articles. The number of research articles using historical anatomical skeletons has been increasing over the past decade. The number of anthropological studies has increased over the total time-frame, but still makes up only 14% of the total. Thirteen studies from journals were placed into more than one category, but in only three of these was anthropology one of those categories. Eighty one percent of the journal articles were hypothesis-driven research. Only three of the journal articles were review studies or meta-analyses.

Total count of journal articles with each research aim category between 2014 and 2024. Some journal articles are counted more than once due to having more than one research aim. Simon et al. (2026). 

Slightly over half of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts had methodological research aims, while 36% had anthropological aims. Six of these abstracts had both methodological and anthropological aims. In the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts, 98.3% had methodological aims, while one had an anthropological aim and one had both an anthropological and a methodological aim. Almost all of the conference abstracts related to hypothesis-driven research, there were no review papers or meta analyses. The most common subject of the methodological research was sex determination, comprising 39.1% of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts and 50.9% of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts. This was followed by age determination, which made up 23.4% of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts and 33.3% of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts.

Frequency of methodological and anthropological research aims from journal articles between (a) 1975 and 2024, and (b) 2014 and 2024. Simon et al. (2026).

The number of American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts fluctuated considerably from year-to-year over the course of the studied period, but there has been no evidence of any decline in the number of methodological samples. There did appear to be an increase in the number of anthropological studies over the time period, although the variation in the number of anthropological studies over the entire period was less than the year-to-year variation in the number of methodological studies.

Total count of American Association of Biological Anthropologists abstracts with each research aim category between 2014 and 2024. Some abstracts are counted more than once due to having more than one research aim. Simon et al. (2026).

Due to the overwhelming preponderance of Methodology driven research in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference abstracts, no statistical analysis of this data was attempted. However, Simon et al. did note that there the number of studies using specimens from historical anatomical collections did decline over time.

Frequency of American Academy of Forensic Sciences abstracts that address methodological research aims with a historical anatomical skeleton collection sample between 2014 and 2024. Simon et al. (2026).

Of the ten most cited journal articles in the study, eight were methodology-based, while two fell in the 'other' category, one of these having addressed the subject of secular change in bone length, and the other the demographics of the skeletons in the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection. These most referenced papers were typically studies which had introduced methods which had become widely used, with six of the eight written before 2000.

Simon et al. also looked at what sort of journals tended to publish articles containing data from historical anatomical skeleton collections, concluding that the majority of such articles were published in forensic anthropology journals.

Simon et al. note an overall decline in the use of historical anatomical skeleton collections in research, along with a declining number of methodology-related studies, which have previously been the greatest users of such collections. The number of anthropological studies of material from historic collections was observed, but only in the American Association of Biological Anthropologists conference abstracts. Simon et al. propose two possible explanations for these results, either a declining usefulness for historical specimens within forensic anthropology, or a cultural shift away from studying the remains of marginalised individuals without there consent. 

Much of the development of the science of forensic anthropology has come about through the use of remains from historical collections. However, in recent years, collections made up of donated skeletons have become increasingly available. At the same time, studies of secular changes in skeletal changes have shown that these historical collections are less scientifically useful for understanding modern populations. This decline in the use of historical collections for forensic purposes has not been accompanied by an equivalent increase in anthropological studies, probably because this lies outside the traditional goals of the science.

The ongoing discussion about the ethics of using human material that was not voluntarily surrendered appears to have driven a shift in the way they are used in research. As such collections have become less useful for forensic studies, it has also become clear that they are able to provide useful information about the lives of historically marginalised communities. This creates a moral dilemma which scientists are now beginning to address, and which will probably result in the development of new ethical codes for the use of such material.

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The Museum of West African Art Archaeology Project.

The city of Benin in southern Nigeria (not to be confused with the modern Benin) formed the capital of the Kingdom of Benin (or Edo) between about 1200 AD and 1897, when it was sacked and burned by a 'Punitive Expedition' led by Admiral Sir Harry Rawson. Following this event, loot taken from the city was sold by the officers involved to museums across Europe and North America, a group of artefacts known collectively as 'Benin Bronzes' due to the large amount of exquisite bronze-ware among the collections, although the term is used to refer to all looted items from this period, regardless of the material from which they were manufactured.

Gaining the return of these artefacts has been a long term goal for many people in Benin, and indeed Nigeria and the Nigerian diaspora, and many (though not all) western museums have agreed to return objects from their collections. To this end, in 2020 architect Sir David Adjaye was commissioned to design a museum in Benin to house those artefacts, a museum due to open on 11 November 2025, as the Museum of West African Art.

An aerial view of the new Museum of West African Art in Benin, Nigeria. Museum of West African Art.

The museum has been built on a site previously occupied by a hospital built in the 1970s, and before that a police barracks from the early twentieth century. Before this, the area had been a part of the historic Palace Complex of Benin, with the clearing and excavation of this site for foundations creating the opportunity for the first major archaeological excavation in Benin for over 50 years.

To this end, the Museum of West African Art Archaeological Project was set up as a collaborative project between the Museum of West African Art, the British Museum, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, and Wessex Archaeology. This project involved the training and employment of ten early-career Nigerian archaeologists, who were given the opportunity to undertake placements in London, Cambridge and Cyprus, as well as 58 additional fieldwork roles.

In a paper published in the journal Antiquity on 23 October 2025, Caleb Folorunso of the Museum of West African Art and the University of Ibadan, Sam Nixon of the Department of Africa, Oceania and Americas at the British Museum, Segun Opadeji, also of the Museum of West African Art, Abidemi Babalola, also of the Department of Africa, Oceania and Americas at the British Museum, Charles Le Quesne, again of the Museum of West African Art, Anna Adamu of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Marcus Brittain and Matthew Brudenell, of the Cambridge Archaeological Unit at the University of Cambridge, and Chris Breeden of Wessex Archaeology, present the initial results of the archaeological work at the Museum of West African Art site.

Wider site context: (a) map of Museum of West African Art  Campus and excavation zones within Benin City; (b) Rainforest Gallery excavations in foreground and Institute building top left. Folorunso et al. (2025).

A series of pits at the site reached a maximum depth of 3.0 m, with straitified cultural layers reaching to depths of between 1.45 and 1.60 m. The oldest radiocarbon dates obtained came from the first millennium AD, although these were below any cultural layer. The main settlement layers begin in the mid fourteenth century, progress through a peak cultural stage in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, recording the palace through to its destruction in 1897, and above this layers associated with the colonial police barracks and post-colonial hospital.

Map showing excavation locations. Folorunso et al. (2025).

The area excavated covered a large portion of the former complex, including the 'wives quarter' or erie, a zone formerly occupied by a number of shrines, as well as a number of other buildings recorded on nineteenth century maps. A number of walls and floors from the earliest phases of occupation were excavated and examined, with final phase, eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings following the same axis as earlier buildings, implying a continuity in urban planning. The wives quarter was surrounded by a substantial earthen wall and a large wooden gate, close to which was a 5 m pit, which may have served as a source of building material.

Plan of structural complex (upper levels) excavated in Area 4 highlighting key areas of interest: (1) & (3) moulded chalk (nzu) arrangements; (2) arranged inverted pots; (4) oven feature and associated pottery; (5) cowries in complete pot; (6) inverted pot; (7) chalk spread; (8) pottery spread and bottles. Folorunso et al. (2025).

The large excavated building contained substantial evidence of ritual activities at the site, including upturned pots, caches of Cowrie shells (also in pots), and moulded chalk arrangements, and is interpreted to have been a shrine. This building also contained over 100 glass bottles, most of which appear to have contained gin, with trade marks such as Africana, Van Hoytema, and Van Marken. These were found alongside Giant Snail shells and quantities of iron, making it likely that they were offerings at a shrine.

Stratigraphy in Area 5: structural levels 1–7 (a)–(c) and work in progress (d)–(e). Folorunso et al. (2025).

The excavations also uncovered evidence of artisanal activity, including pits containing charcoal and traces of metal slag, thought to date from the nineteenth century. Also found were pieces of crucibles and fragments of copper alloys, although these are still under investigation. Over 120 000 pieces of pottery and ceramics were unearthed, including imported glazed wares, although most were of local origin. Other finds included smoking pipes, beads, glass bottles and metal objects. The ceramic fragments appear to represent a sequence, which has the potential to be developed and applied to other sites, although this is also still being worked on. Plant remains include crops such as Oil Palm, Pearl Millet, Cotton, and Foxtail Millet. Many pollen samples have also been collected, which in combination have the potential to shed light on changing agricultural practices and diet over the history of the site.

Selected material culture: (a) metallurgy; (b) other finds. Folorunso et al. (2025).

Post 1897 finds at the site include a European cemetery, believed to have been founded shortly after the fall of the city and now mapped for the first time. A building complex made from mud bricks with mortar, interpreted as a potential early governor's residence, and a cache of colonial era police regalia.

While the window of opportunity for excavations was short, and studies of the excavated material are still ongoing, the Museum of West African Art Archaeology Project is already the most comprehensive archaeological study of the City of Benin, providing new information on all eras including the Kingdom of Benin in the immediate pre-conquest phase and the early colonial period. The project has the potential to greatly improve our understanding of urbanism, architecture, artisanal practice, ritual, trade, diet and the environment of pre-colonial Nigeria. The work has the potential to help establish the Museum of West African Art as a new, world class, research centre.

The Museum of West African Art was due to open on 11 November 2025, however, that opening has now been delayed, following a series of protests at the site on Sunday 9 November. These protests centre around the ownership of artefacts within the museum, many of which were looted by the British military in 1897. Many local people believe that these artefacts should be returned to the Kingdom of Benin, and therefore be placed in the custody of the current traditional ruler of the city, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II (CFR), the Oba of Benin.

Protesters at the Museum of West African Art on Sunday 9 November 2025. Toyin Adedokun/AFP/Getty Images.

The Museum of West African Art is a Federal Nigerian institution, and the protesters felt that, in containing objects they associate with the traditional office of the Oba, the museum was falsely presenting itself as a royal institution. The museum itself insists that it does not own any of the objects within it, but merely acts as a repository, exhibition centre, and place of study. This enables it to hold artefacts which European institutions have only returned on 'permanent loan', as well as exhibitions of art from other countries, or modern artists.

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Using microfossils and pollen to determine the origin of a set of stocks in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

In 2019 a man donated a set of stocks to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which he claimed his  grandfather had acquired in the  1970s from a farm in Zeeland Province.  The museum put the stocks on display in 2021, as part of an exhibition about the Dutch colony in Brazil between 1630 and 1654. In 2023, the stocks were loaned to the United Nations in New York, where they formed part of an exhibition about slavery in Dutch colonies. However, during the New York exhibition, questions were raised as to whether the stocks had ever actually been to South America. A radiocarbon analysis suggested that the tree from which the stocks had been made was probably felled in about 1800, with the stocks probably being made in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, DNA testing established that the wood came from a lineage of Oak trees, which today is found growing in Europe between northern Spain in in the south and southern Scandinavia in the north. 

In a paper published in the journal Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology on 10 August 2024, Hans Piena of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Dutch Open Air Museum, and the Royal Netherlands Historical Society, Bas van Geel of the University of Amsterdam, Tom Hakbijl of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Arie Kalis of Goethe University, Pim van der Knaap and Jacqueline van Leeuwen, also of the University of Amsterdam, and Kees Nooren of Utrecht University, describe the results of a study which looked at palynological evidence (preserved pollen and spores) to develop a forensic picture of the environment in which the stocks had been used.

Oak stocks in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Inv.nr. NG.2019–502). Measurements: 265 × 37.5 × 23 cm. Piena et al. (2024).

Sediment was extracted from holes and cracks in the stocks, and analysed for palynomorphs (pollen, algae and spores), and the surface of the stocks were analysed for surface wear and other traces of use.

The stocks comprise two oak beams resting on a pair of cross-braces. Each beam has nine semicircular openings, which correspond to similar openings on the other beam, with the pair making a hole. on the other beam. At one end of the beams is an iron hinge, at the other an obliquely worn padlock eye. The insides of the holes have been smoothed to a shiny surface, suggesting that the stocks were used frequently. The upper surface of the beams are also smooth, having apparently been rubbed frequently with sand; cracks and small holes on this surface were filled with sediment. There are also a large number of chopping and cutting marks on the upper surface, in places forming a chequerboard pattern. The underside shows no signs of similar wear or sanding, and is largely free of sediment. 

The two cross-braces yielded traces of attacks by Fungi and Woodworm, which are not seen on the beams, and are interpreted by Piena et al. as feet upon which the stocks sat. They were previously interpreted as side braces in the two slavery exhibitions, which would have led to the stocks being horizontal, holding prisoners seated on the floor. Under Piena et al.'s interpretation, the holes would have been vertical, forcing anyone  trapped in the stocks to stand.

The number '22' has been written on the upper surface of the stocks in blue chalk. The fact that this has not been rubbed of strongly suggests that it was written after the stocks ceased being used, possibly as part of an inventory process or auction sale. Before the twentieth century, chalk could be produced in few colours other than white, but blue is one of those colours, making it possible the number was written in the nineteenth century. 

The contents of a sediment-filled hole on the upper surface of the stocks were analysed for siliceous microfossils. This produced about 500 000 Diatoms per gram of sediment, with fifty different species identified. These were largely indicative of a mesotrophic freshwater environment, such as a slow-flowing stream or ditch.  This included the epiphytic Diatom Cocconeis placentula, which grows on the surface of aquatic Plants or Macroalgae. No marine or brackish water species were found. Phytoliths (opaline silica crystals which build up in the leaves of Plants as dissolved monosillicic acid taken up with groundwater and precipitated out as water is lost from the leaves via transpiration) associated with Grasses were found, but none associated with Palms. Also present in great numbers were the stomatocysts of Chrysophytes (Golden-brown Algae), which are also typical of freshwater environments, with about 460 000 stomatocysts per gram of sediment. Also present were samples of the freshwater Alga Spirogyra and pollen of the freshwater Plant Myriophyllum alterniflorum. All of these species are indicative of freshwater ecosystems, but otherwise fairly cosmopolitan, and can be found in tropical and temperate environments.

Samples of pollen and spores were extracted from eight different cracks and holes on the surface of the stocks, with five samples being extracted from one large hole. A total of 7106 individual specimens were found, including 142 taxa of spores and pollen, from 18 trees, 21 shrubs, 91 herbs, 5 Ferns, and 7 types of Fungi, Algae, and Moss. This high proportion of herb pollen is likely to be indicative of an open agricultural environment, probably with low nutrient levels. This contained only a small proportion of Chenopodiaceaetype and Plantago maritima-type pollen, making a salt marsh environment unlikely. Many of the pollen types are cosmopolitan in distribution, but others, including Armeria, Cistaceae, Erica arborea, Lavandula, Nerium oleander, Olea, Pinus pinaster, Quercus ilex, Urtica pilulifera, Eryngium tenue, Corrigiola telephiifolia, and Vitis vinifera, are typical of the Mediterranean region, while others, including Erica australis, Erica umbellata, Cistus albidus, Cistus populifolius, Cistus ladanifer, and Halimium halimifolium, are found only on the western Iberian Peninsula and in western North Africa. Notably, the pollen of Cedrus and Chamaerops, which are more-or-less ubiquitous in recent North African sediments, were absent. 

Many pollen samples from cereal species showed signs of heat-deformation, something which has previously been observed in samples from medieval cesspits, and which is thought to be associated with bread or porridge-making.

The stocks also show signs of Insect damage in places, and yielded some Insect samples. The Insect damage comes in two forms. The first of these is wide flat tunnelling in the cambium layer, which would have underlain the bark, and which is caused by the larvae of Buprestid or Cerambycid Beetles. The second form of damage is a series of small boreholes likely to have been caused by Anobium punctatum, a small boring Beetle commonly associated with wooden beams and objects in Europe, which favours humid indoor environments. The Insect remains found belong to Ptinus fur or Ptinus clavipes, Adistemia watsoni, Latridius minutus, and two unidentified members of the Corticariinae. Adistemia watsoni is a species native to South America, but which had spread to Europe by the nineteenth century. The Spider Beetles, Ptinus fur and Ptinus clavipes, are typically found in indoor settings, feeding on Human food or other Pland and Animal remains. A small Mite belonging to the family Macrochelidae was also found. This assemblage has been found in other archaeological settings, and is considered typical of an indoor environment with mouldy food, litter and/or hay, and possibly excrement. 

The underside of one of the cross-braces, which is worn and shows traces of Fungal and Woodworm attack. Piena et al. (2024).

Artefacts will typically begin to assemble traces and small microparticles of biological origin from the moment when they are made, enabling researchers to build up a life history of  objects of interest. Examination of the assemblage associated with the Rijksmuseum stocks showed no evidence of these ever having visited South America, despite earlier interpretations.

A prior DNA analysis of the wood suggests that the stocks were made from a tree which probably grew somewhere between northern Spain and southern Scandinavia, and it seems unlikely that it was transported for any great distance before being worked. This is because only wood with a high market value is typically shipped for any great distance, which effectively means wood with a straight grain and few knots. The wood from which the stocks are made has an irregular grain pattern and is somewhat knotty, which would generally only be used if the desired task required wood to be sourced locally. The stocks also show signs of having been worked using techniques typical for green wood usage, which again makes it highly unlikely that the wood was transported any distance before being used.

The style of the stocks, with holes on top forcing the prisoner(s) to stand is unusual, but is known to have been used widely on the Iberian Peninsula during the early nineteenth century, leading Piena et al. to conclude that the stocks are likely to be of Iberian origin.

The samples collected can be expected to have started to accumulate as soon as the stocks were  made, and to have continued to accumulate throughout their existence. Samples were taken from locations all over the stocks, and in one in one location, a hole, a succession of samples were taken from different depths. Despite this, other than samples from the lower side being dusty and samples from the upper side being sandy, there was remarkably little difference in the samples, suggesting that the stocks spent much of their lives in a single environment. 

The pollen samples collected from the stocks suggest that this environment was in western Iberia, while the DNA collected from the wood suggests that it grew no  further south than northern Iberia, which is at least a neighbouring region. 

The Insects collected from the stocks suggest a humid, indoor environment, while the presence of cereal pollen, and good preservation of the Diatoms and pollen suggest that the sediment in which they were preserved did was not exposed to moisture for long periods.

Based upon this evidence, Piena et al. consider two separate scenarios, which could account for the accumulation of microfossils seen on the stocks. 

It is possible that the entire assemblage is post-use, representing a time when the stocks had been abandoned in a slow-moving stream or ditch, in an open agricultural environment with poor soils and intensive Rye cultivation, an environment typical of the Iberian Peninsula in the nineteenth century. This scenario is supported by the good preservation of pollen and Diatoms, the type of sediment found, and the low number of Fungal spores, but contradicted by the presence of sediment only on the upper side of the stocks, not on the underside or in the cavities between the beams and cross-braces. 

Alternatively, the large amount of pollen from wild Grasses and Cereals, particularly Rye, makes it possible that the stocks were used in an indoor environment where Grass and Rye straw were used as litter. This is supported by the types of spores present, which are all from species associated with decaying Plant matter or Animal dung (including Human). This is consistent with the idea that the stocks were used in a humid, indoor environment. The presence of Fungal and Woodworm damage to the underside of the stocks would be consistent with them sitting on a moist floor covered with a litter of straw and hay, possibly in a stable or dungeon (with the latter being more likely, given the presumed purpose of the stocks). Thus the deformed Cereal pollen could have come from bread or porridge fed to prisoners, or their faeces if they were forced to produce this while trapped in the stocks, and the sand in the cracks on the upper surface would be consistent with frequent scrubbing of this surface. 

Historically, most stocks around the world were positioned on their sides, with prisoners thus able to lie down. The Rijksmuseum stocks, however, are of a far rarer design, which held the prisoner in an upright position, forcing them to stand upright. Such stocks were often ued in conjunction with a neck brace on a wall, so that prisoners could be held upright and restrained. This was once common in Spanish prisons, providing a likely origin for the stocks. Notably, such stocks were particularly common during the Peninsula War of 1807-1814 and the Spanish War of Independence of 1814-1823, both wars which were noted for numerous attocities. In other settings, however, stocks of this type were combined with a latrine bench with holes, with prisoners being held in a sitting position.

Por liberal?, 1814–1823, by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, showing a  woman trapped in a horizontal type of stocks. Piena et al. (2024).

When obtained, little was known about the set of stocks present in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. They were identified as having (recently) come from Zeeland, and were considered appropriate for an exhibition about the Dutch colony in Brazil between 1630 and 1658. Subsequent investigations have suggested that they were most likely made in Europe around 1800, and never taken to South America. Subsequent investigations by Piena et al. have narrowed the likely point of origin to the western Iberian Peninsula, and suggest that they were used in a moist indoor environment, most likely a dungeon.

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English museum aquires Bronze Age Hoard.

The Dorset Museum and Art Gallery in southern England has raised £17 000 needed to acquire a Bronze Age hoard discovered by a metal detectorist in 2020. The hoard, which comprises a sword, and axe head, and a bracelet, was found by metal detectorist John Belgrave during an organised event at a farm in the village of Stalbridge, near Sherborne in Dorset, during an organised event, when he became separated from the group and climbed a hill outside the planned area of the survey, where he made the discovery. The £17 000 will be divided between Belgrave and the owner of the land where the discovery was made.

Middle Bronze Age rapier, a bangle and palstave axe head. Portable Antiquities Scheme/British Museum/Surry County Council.

The sword from the Stalbridge Middle Bronze Age Hoard is a bronze rapier with a blade 535 mm in length, cast in one piece, but apparently deliberately broken into the sections, one of which is still attached to the hilt, before being buried. The hilt of the sword is made from a copper alloy, and has been cast in the form of the wooden sword hilts typical of the time. The blade is cross shaped in profile, 60 mm wide and 7.5 mm thick at the hilt. The longer of the two blade fragments is bent, and weighs 188 g, the smaller weighs 23.34 g. The hilt is 113 mm long, with an ovel pommel measuring 46.2 mm by 41.6 mm. The guard is c-shaped, with the bade of the blade still attached by four dome-headed rivets. Swords of this type have been referred to as Wandsworth-type rapiers, and are associated with the Middle Bronze Age Taunton Phase, between about 1400 and 1275 BC.

Metal detectorist John Belgrave with the sword he found in Stalbridge, Dorset, in 2020. Max Willcock/Bournemouth News & Picture Service.

The bronze axe-head is of a type called a South-western palstave, also associated with the Taunton Phase. These have a side-loop, a mid-rib, and side-flanges which would have been used to support a forked wooden handle. It is made from a copper-alloy, and is 159 mm in length with a maximum thickness of 31.5 mm. The cutting edge of the axe flares to give a rounded cutting edge, 51.7 mm wide.

A palstave axe-head found in Dorset in 2020. Portable Antiquities Scheme/British Museum/Surry County Council.

The bracelet is a copper-alloy ring-shaped bangle, of a type known as a Liss Bracelet, again associated with the Taunton Phase. It has an outer diameter of 75.6 mm, an inner diameter of 61.5 mm, a width of 16.3 mm, and a width that varies between 6.1 and 6.8mm. Its outer surface has an incised or engraved panels which with complex geometric decoration, which appears to be centred on a thickened lobe on one side. Liss Bracelets are known only from the Taunton Phase of the English Bronze Age, with most known examples coming from Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, and West Sussex, though they have also been found in Norfolk and Suffolk. 

A Liss Bracelet from the Stalbridge Middle Bronze Age Hoard. Portable Antiquities Scheme/British Museum/Surry County Council.

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