A book set to be released in the U.K. has once again brought attention to the country's colonial history. The book reveals that a ceremonial drinking vessel, made from a human skull, was used at one of Oxford University's colleges until 2015. This vessel, originally crafted for drinking purposes, was discovered to have been part of formal dinners at Worcester College, an institution under the university’s umbrella.
According to The Guardian, professor Dan Hicks, the world archaeology curator at the university's Pitt Rivers Museum, discusses the skull cup regularly used during formal evening meals at Worcester College in his book Every Monument Will Fall. The cup, with a polished exterior and silver embellishments, was part of the college's dining traditions up until 2015. Hicks describes how, after the wine started to leak from the skull, the vessel was also used for serving chocolate.
Hicks emphasizes that the use of such an artifact represents more than just an unusual piece of tableware. He argues that the skull cup is a symbol of the violence and erasure of identities that were part of colonial practices. In his research, Hicks sought to show how the victims of colonialism – often erased from history due to the racist ideologies of English culture and white supremacy – were subjected to violence in both literal and symbolic forms. The destruction of identities, according to Hicks, was an integral part of the brutality involved.
The use of the skull cup became a point of discomfort for both guests and academics. As a result, its use was discontinued. In 2019, Hicks was invited to investigate the origins of the skull and to explore how it became "a macabre table accessory" over the years.
Despite extensive research, Hicks was unable to determine the identity of the person whose skull had been turned into a ceremonial vessel. Carbon dating revealed that the skull was approximately 225 years old. Based on the size of the skull and other evidence, Hicks suggests it may have belonged to a woman from the Caribbean, likely a victim of slavery.
In addition to the skull’s obscure origins, the history of the vessel itself is also fraught with controversy, beginning with its donation to Worcester College in 1946 by George Pitt-Rivers, a former student with ties to colonial history. Pitt-Rivers, known for his support of fascist leader Oswald Mosley, had been imprisoned by the British government during World War II due to his political beliefs. The silver edging of the cup bears his name. Furthermore, the skull cup originally belonged to Pitt-Rivers' grandfather, Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, an archaeologist and soldier of the Victorian era who founded the Pitt-Rivers Museum in 1884.
