The bones that took two-and-a-half years to clean

Out of all the bones I have had, this one has been the longest to write about ! Above are the bones a week or so ago (and an atlas bone from a seal as well !) but it took two-and-a-half years to get them like this. These bones are so interesting that I have written three posts about what I did and what I found.

When I was in Northern Ireland in April 2010 Granddad said he had found something. He asked if I was interested in some dog bones. I said definitely yes, so we went in the car together and then walked into a deserted field. He showed me where it was. It was underneath a hay bale, and I thought it would just be bones, but it was mummified which is not the prettiest thing to see. That's why the next picture you need to click on it and hold down to see it properly, and don't do it while you're eating your dinner !

How dermestid beetles help rot down bodies

Last Sunday I got a surprise email from a a lady called Professor Sue Black. Professor Black is a famous professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee, and she found my website when she was looking for a picture of a swan furculum (I have one and I wrote about it here). She invited me up to the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification which she runs to see their dermestid beetles.