Ashes to asses: an archaeological perspective on death and donkeys

Abstract

This article considers the Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth, Devon, UK, as an example of how animal rescue centres and sanctuaries have developed in the UK over the last 30 years as a new form of charity-run commemorative landscape. Human ashes are scattered in the Sanctuary grounds, memorial plaques cover the buildings of the Sanctuary, and many more are set on benches and beside memorial trees around the donkey paddocks. Through text and material culture, these memorials constitute a commemorative parity between people and animals in death, and the Donkey Sanctuary has become a complex memorial landscape. Using a sample of over 500 memorials from the Sanctuary’s grounds, the article explores the use of material culture in creating an emotive and utopian ‘donkey heaven’ in the contemporary Devon landscape.