Skeleton at London Dungeon found to be real

Telegraph ^ | 12-4-11

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

A skeleton at the London Dungeon's popular "creepy crypt" exhibit has been found to be real.

It is believed that the bones could have been displayed at the attraction since it opened in 1975.

Now the skeleton has been found to be genuine, it must be licensed by the Human Tissues Authority at a cost of 2,000 pounds a year.

The remains, which include a rib-cage and backbone, have been named Kate - after model Kate Moss.

It is thought she might date from the early days of anatomical research when bodies were regularly smuggled in from the Far East

And staff now suspect another skeleton hanging in a gibbet cage might also be real. She is known as Twiggy.

It was only when managers learned that real bones have to have a licence they asked an expert to come in and check their bones.

Bill Edwards, from London's Guy's Hospital's Medical Museum, took a scraping and confirmed the remains of "Kate" were once those of a person.

Based on the way certain bones were wired together it is thought the partial skeleton was put together in the 1950s.

Now the London Dungeon is to have "Twiggy" tested as well after Mr Edwards said it looked genuine.

He said: "I need to go back and examine that one more closely when the Dungeon team can get it down from the wall.

"But from what I could see it looks either human, or a combination of some human and some artificial parts."

Catherine Pritchard, from London Dungeon, said: "We have long suspected they might be real.

"We decided we'd better find out after learning from the Human Tissues Authority that we could be breaking the law if they were real, and were less than 100 years old.

[onedoug]

Wasn´t it background to a wider display? Once an extra....

[Hot Tabasco]

Any curiosity about who the bones belonged to before their death?