The HSHSL will display the exhibit “Bodies of Knowledge” in the Weise Gallery from Oct. 20, 2026 to Jan. 8, 2027. The exhibit features the preserved specimens of 19th-century anatomist Allan Burns, and MUMAB (Mummy, University of Maryland at Baltimore), the product of a collaboration between anatomist Ronald “Ronn” Wade and Egyptologist Bob Brier, Ph.D.
HSHSL will host a reception for the exhibit on Oct. 28, 2026 at 4 p.m.
About The Burns Collection
In the early 19th-century, Allan Burns, a Scottish anatomist and educator, preserved anatomical specimens in a solution of arsenic, salt, and honey, allowing specimens to be used repeatedly for teaching purposes. Following Burns’ death in 1813, his specimens were sold to Granville Sharp Pattison, Burns’ pupil and chair of surgery at University of Maryland, Baltimore. After being part of a touring exhibit, the specimens are now returning to UMB.
About MUMAB
In 1994, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine undertook an extraordinary experiment: recreating the ancient Egyptian mummification process using methods described in historical sources. Wade and Brier mummified a body donor from Maryland using procedures practiced during the New Kingdom period. Periodically studied using CT scans and MRI, MUMAB has shown no signs of decay