What happens to the bones afterwards?

Human remains can tell us a great deal about how people lived in the past. A person's age, sex, diet, cause of death and illnesses or injuries sustained in life can all often be ascertained by scientific study of their bones. New advances in areas such as DNA testing have the potential to open up new windows to the past. Where the body has been particularly well-preserved, such as in very dry conditions (Egyptian mummies, for example), very cold ('Oetzi the iceman') or very wet (bog people and others), the amount of information we can obtain about our ancestors can be immense.

Nor is the study of human remains without practical benefits today. Our knowledge of diseases such as leprosy and TB – and our ability to combat them – has been advanced significantly as a result of archaeological study.

For these reasons, a range of tests and further study may be carried out on human remains. Museums and research institutions may also retain some remains for future study. When these are complete, some remains may be put on display. More usually, they are reinterred at an appropriate location.