Skeletal remains of 266 people found at Mannar mass grave

The excavations at the mass grave, which was discovered near the old CWE (Sathosa) building in Mannar, have unearthed skeletal remains belonging to 266 individuals as of today (06), according to the Judicial Medical Officer in charge of the inspection Dr S. Rajapaksa.

Out of this total, skeletal remains belonging to 258 individuals have been systematically removed through excavations and currently placed at the Mannar Magistrate’s Court complex, Dr Rajapaksa said.

These skeletal remains will be sent to a lab in the California, United States for radiocarbon dating, he further said.

Under the first and the second phases of excavations, soil mounds have been removed from the site, however, the perimeters of the excavation site would have to be expanded, he said.

Several skeletal remains had been discovered on March 26 from a mound of soil in the Emil Nagar area in Mannar, which had been removed from the demolished CWE building and investigations regarding the location were launched subsequently.

The excavation process was launched under the orders of Mannar Magistrate A.G. Alexraja, following the submissions made by Mannar police.

The investigations, led by Prof. Raj Somadeva of Archaeology at the Postgraduate Institute of the University of Kelaniya, the officers of the Archaeological Department, Government Analysts and the Judicial Medical Officers including Dr Sameendra Rajapaksa, Mannar police officers, have been conducted for 112 days at the location under the orders of the new Mannar Magistrate T. Saravanaraja.

According to Prof. Somadeva, the age estimation of the skeletal remains is not yet determined.