The excavation process of the mass grave discovered at the old CWE building (Sathosa) in Mannar has been resumed, according to Judicial Medical Officer Dr. S. Rajapaksa, who is in charge of the inspection.

Excavations at the mass grave were temporarily halted on August 10 and resumed yesterday (21).

He stated that among the skeletal remains of 66 individuals that have been unearthed so far, 40 have been removed through excavations.

The excavated skeletal remains have been sealed and placed at the Mannar Magistrate’s Court complex, Dr. Rajapaksa stated.

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 commenced under the orders of Mannar Magistrate A.G. Alexraja, following the submissions made by Mannar police.

The investigations, led by the officers of the Archaeological Department, Government Analysts and the Judicial Medical Officers, Mannar police officers, have been conducted for 56 days at the location, under the orders of new Mannar Magistrate T.G. Prabhakaran.

According to Prof. Raj Somadeva, Professor of Archaeology at the Postgraduate Institute of University of Kelaniya, the age estimation of the skeletal remains is not yet determined.

He stated that investigations have revealed some unearthed skeletal remains were placed in a methodical manner at one part of the grave, however in another part of the grave the placement of skeletal remains is irregular.

Previously, skeletal remains belonging to 85 human bodies were unearthed while installing a pipeline near the road to Thiruketheeswaran Kovil in Mannar. However it was later revealed that the location had been an old cemetery, following the examinations of skeletal remains led by the former Judicial Medical Officer of Anuradhapura Hospital D.L. Vaidyarathna.