Surgeons' Hall

The victims' bodies were sold for anatomical dissection during a period when medical schools had a huge demand for cadavers, which opens up this whole other fascinating subject around medicine, anatomy, and grave robbing.

You can visit places like Surgeons' Hall Museum and learn about the history of medicine and surgery.

And then Edinburgh gives you underground vaults, graveyards, ghost tours, and centuries of slightly unsettling history.

Basically, Edinburgh can give you a gorgeous romantic weekend or three days of murder, graves and ghosts.

Pieces of skin attributed to Burke were turned into macabre souvenirs, including a calling card case and, most famously, the binding for a small pocketbook engraved on the cover, Execution of Burke, Burke's Skin Pocket Book.

That book is on display today at the Surgeon's Hall Museum in Edinburgh, a short walk from where the murders took place.

The man who helped build an underground trade in stolen and murdered bodies became, after his execution, one more specimen in the very trade he'd profited from.

Every person on today's episode ended up as an object, a specimen, a souvenir, a sideshow attraction, a piece of evidence, a museum case.

fair i'm like i i read a lot and i love uh anything uh like a medical fiction not non-fiction but specifically about like back in the like the surgery auditorium days when you know you do like public surgeries and the best surgeon was who could amputate a leg as fast as possible i would i too would choose a sequel so fair

Yeah, in Edinburgh, there's a place called Surgeon's Hall Museum.

If you ever come to Edinburgh, go and see it.

It is fascinating.

Hello and welcome to Beyond the Knife, a medical history podcast brought to you by Surgeons Hall Museums, Library and Archives.

We are part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

I am Shante, Director of Heritage and Estates at the college.

Each episode, I'm joined by a guest who shares a story from the history of medicine and surgery.

🎵 🎵 Hello and welcome to Beyond the Knife, a medical history podcast brought to you by Surgeons Hall Museums, Library and Archives.

We are part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

I am Shantae, Director of Heritage and Estates at the College.

Always a pleasure to be here.

In early 2026, Lord Reedhaven, descendant of the Grant Chieftains, presented the skull in accompanying letter to Dan Cottam, curator of the Grandtown Museum.

Cottam has outlined the steps he has taken to analyze the skull with the help of forensic scientists and osteologists from Surgeons Hall Museums and University of Edinburgh.

A series is being aired as four episodes, with the finale set on September 25 when the findings are to be revealed to Lord Readhaven.

So, will the Cummins skull be definitively linked to the McGregor chafe? Although the scientific work may establish details such as the skull's age, sex, injuries or likely date, identifying a named 13th century individual would be much harder.