# Was this a common practice? (embalmed head)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-a-common-practice-embalmed-head/419575>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 18, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-a-common-practice-embalmed-head/419575 "2007-09-18T03:22:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Von\_Erich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Von\_Erich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Von_Erich)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-a-common-practice-embalmed-head/419575/1 "2007-09-18T03:22:10Z")

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According to the Wikipedia article on Sir Walter Raleigh “After Raleigh’s execution, his head was embalmed and presented to his wife. She carried it with her in a velvet bag until she died twenty-nine years later and it was returned to Raleigh’s tomb at St Margaret’s.”

Was it a common practice for the head to be preserved and presented to the family of the deceased? If so, what would the family usually do with it?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-a-common-practice-embalmed-head/419575/2 "2007-09-18T07:36:43Z")

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I’d say _fairly uncommon_, although there are other examples of souvenir body parts being kept. Here are a few more examples:

> **[Bits and Pieces of famous people in history](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Bits-Pieces/)**
>
> It is very strange how the body parts of famous people often go missing, only to reappear hundreds of years after the demise of their owners. Read on for the true (if rather gory!) stories of some missing 'bits and pieces'...

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-a-common-practice-embalmed-head/419575/3 "2007-09-18T12:16:32Z")

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They embalmed heads of famous criminals sometimes, so people could see the famous criminal was dead. I’m sure they didn’t mind attracting people to view the macabre, usually for a price.