Oxford academics drank from cup made from human skull, book reveals

Decades-long use of chalice at Worcester College highlights violent colonial history of looted human remains, says Prof Dan Hicks

Oxford academics drank from a chalice made from a human skull for decades, a book that explores the violent colonial history of looted human remains has revealed.

The skull-cup, fashioned from a sawn-off and polished braincase adorned with a silver rim and stand, was used regularly at formal dinners at Worcester College, Oxford, until 2015, according to Prof Dan Hicks, the curator of world archaeology at the university’s Pitt Rivers Museum.

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