Real human skull, trepanation, vintage trephine

Real human skull vintage trepanation, trephine skull drill tool, believed to be from the 1950's maybe earlier, mounted on a beautiful custom made base. The preparation shows it's use using a real piece of a human skull.

Trephines were instruments used to remove a section of bone from the skull. This practice began in Neolithic times and was used through the 1800s to remove diseases, treat skull fractures, release evil spirits, and treat headaches and epilepsy.

By Mattaeus Ball

Warning: Keep out of reach of childrentemporal bone

We proudly use locally sourced, sustainable wood from our family-run business in the United Kingdom to craft bespoke bases for our displays. Each skeleton that enters our care is handled with the utmost respect and reverence, as we understand that these bones once belonged to a human life. We kindly ask that our customers and clients honour that same respect when these remarkable pieces arrive at their new destination.

Our mission is to breathe new life into these historical remains by painstakingly re-articulating each skeleton in the traditional Victorian style. We aim to preserve as much of the original structure as possible, carefully utilising the pre-existing holes created by the original anatomists or articulators to minimise further damage to the bones.

We are committed to ethical practices and exclusively work with ethically sourced, real human bones, many of which come from ex-medical collections. To learn more about the history and provenance of these bones, we encourage you to explore our news section, where we provide educational resources on the journey of these remains and the importance of preserving them with dignity.

Unless explicitly marked as "antique," most of our bones fall under the "vintage" classification. This means bones under 100 years old should only be displayed for private use. If you choose to display any of our pieces publicly, you do so at your own discretion.