Editing John Henry Newman (section)

=== Remains ===
Newman's grave was opened on 2 October 2008, with the intention of moving any remains to a tomb inside [[Birmingham Oratory]] for their more convenient veneration as [[relics]]<ref name=Duffy/> during Newman's consideration for [[sainthood]]; however, his wooden coffin was found to have disintegrated and no bones were found. A representative of the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory alleged that this was because the coffin was wooden and the burial took place at a damp site.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7672099.stm Mystery of cardinal's missing bones] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102010537/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7672099.stm |date=2 January 2009 }}, ''BBC News'', 29 October 2008.</ref> Contemporary sources show that the coffin was covered with a softer type of soil than the clay marl of the grave site.{{sfn|Ker|2009|p=747}} Forensic expert John Hunter, from the University of Birmingham, tested soil samples from near the grave and said that total disappearance of a body was unlikely over that timescale. He said that extreme conditions which could remove bone would also have removed the coffin handles, which were extant.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2008/11/05/professor-probes-mystery-over-missing-bones-of-cardinal-newman-65233-22185056/ | title = Professor probes mystery over missing bones of Cardinal Newman | date = 5 November 2008 | publisher = West Midlands News | access-date = 18 September 2010 |url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081208205736/http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2008/11/05/professor-probes-mystery-over-missing-bones-of-cardinal-newman-65233-22185056/ | archive-date = 8 December 2008}}</ref>