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Grave secrets

Eighteenth-century Edinburgh was a dangerous place for a corpse. The city was leading the way in medical teaching in Britain, and physicians were desperate to untangle the body’s inner-workings through dissection. The demand for cadavers soon overtook supply, and a spate of grave-robbing swept the city. A century later, William Burke and William Hare went even further, murdering at least 16 people and selling their remains to anatomists.

National Museums Scotland’s new exhibition sheds light on this bloody history, considering why the desire for knowledge led to such gruesome episodes in Edinburgh. With artefacts ranging from drawings by Leonardo da Vinci to Burke’s skeleton and murder confession, the exhibition provides a window onto a chilling chapter of medical history.

Anatomy: A Matter of Death and Life

National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh / 2 July-30 October / nms.ac.uk

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Step into the past

History lovers are preparing to