1LIB427 Necropolis: London and its Dead University of Westminster - Arts, Business & Sciences Program Summer 2016 July 3-Week - London

Central London is a mass burial ground of almost unrivalled proportions. Layer upon layer of London soil contains remains of previous eras - pagan, Roman, medieval, Victorian - indeed, the City is really one giant graveyard. 'Necropolis' draws on archaeology, architecture, anecdotal history and cultural commentary to examine attitudes towards death in London from the Black Death and the Great Plague of 1666 to the Victorian obsession with death and mourning. For the Victorians in particular, death was a rite of passage, from the domestic deathbed, to the expensive funeral and elaborate memorials.

Highlights will include field trips to two of London's great Victorian cemeteries, Kensal Green and Abney Park.