The mystery of the ashes of the Indian nationalist Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose, known more commonly as just Netaji is a famous figure in the Indian nationalist movement. During the second world war he pursued a number of routes to try and get the British out of Indian, first courting the Germans and then the Japanese however when his military campaign didn’t work, he decided…
More...Philip II of Macedonia cremated remains confirmed
Most of us have heard of Alexander the Great, well in case you weren’t aware his father was Philip II of Macedonia and scientists now believe they have discovered his cremated remains. The tomb that held them was found a while ago in 1977, but recent excavations revealed that there were were more burial…
More...The rise and fall of cremation in the ancient world
As far back as 1000BC the ancient Greeks had adopted cremation as measure to deal with their dead. It is likely that it was introduced for military reasons as a way of making sure that soldiers killed abroad could be returned home, the bodies were cremated and their ashes are return home to be placed…
More...Julius Caesar’s soul was carried to the heaven by an eagle
Julius Caesar arguably one off the most important figures in western history was assassinated on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC. When Caesar died, his body was taken to The Forum to be cremated, the crowd that witnessed this was much larger than had been expected causing mayhem, and his funeral pyre burnt slightly out of control causing…
More...Baldur the viking god cremated on his longboat
Baldur is an ancient norse god, in fact the only norse god I have found associated with being cremated in a viking longboat. Baldur was the son of Odin (king of the gods) and his wife Frigg (who gives her name to Friday). Anyway he was a well loved god, famed for his intelligence and…
More...Medieval fashion – ashes launched from a Trebuchet or Catapult
Flung from a mighty medieval war engine, sailing into the sky then boom! The ashes scattered across the the target – what a way to go! Well okay perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea, but I would wager there are plenty people out there who would like it! Okay mainly your armour clad battle…
More...The False Tsar who had his ashes shot out of a cannon!
This is a great little story from northern europe from the early 17th century, during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) The incident is set in the conflict or series of conflicts that involved the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth taking an opportunistic swipe at the Russians when the Russian Tsardom was torn into a series of civil wars. As with many civil…
More...The Orgins of the Ashes cricket contest – a protest for cremation
As one of the world greatest sporting contest draws to a close and England retain the precious little trophy, spare a thought for where this tiddler came from and what was the symbolism. The story starts in 1882, at the Oval cricket ground in London, when England cricketers managed to clutch defeat from the jaws of…
More...What do these Greeks have in common…
People who commit suicide, untoothed children and persons struck by lightning? The answer: they were not allowed to be cremated. It would appear that in pre christian times cremation was the standard form of funeral and that as christianity took hold, a distinction between the old and the new must be established and previous practises were considered…
More...Dr William Price the father of modern British cremation?
The Physician, Welsh nationalist and Neo-Druid Dr William Price (1800 –1893) could and perhaps should be considered to be the father of modern British cremation. Dr Price was certainly unusual, even by the standards of the day and on the eccentric-meter firmly in the red zone. However what is even more interesting is his…
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