Recently, Barbara co-applied for a Flemish Cultural Heritage project grant. The grant was awarded for the project MEMOR, which evaluates preservation, storage, and handling of human skeletal remains in Flanders. This will result in a database that provides an overview of all available human skeletal collections. Additional information, such as the number of nonadults and adults, state of preservation, and time period, will simplify future research. The database can be modified even after the project is finished, to keep the information up to date. Furthermore, other categories (e.g. ceramics and metals) can be added.
MEMOR will also construct an ethical framework regarding human skeletal remains in Flanders. This will be achieved by discussing ethical issues regarding human remains with various parties, such as religious groups and museums, and by considering legislation related to the handling and storage of human remains in neighbouring countries. The Flemish ethical framework will serve as a guideline in the process of making decisions about keeping or discarding human skeletal collections, accessibility and storage. This will further improve the quality of future research on human skeletal remains.
