Ongoing excavations at Sri Lanka's largest documented mass grave in Jaffna have uncovered 539 sets of human remains, including two headless skeletons discovered in recent days.
The Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna has yielded 539 identified bodies as of Tuesday, according to excavation teams led by archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva and Judicial Medical Officer Dr. Selliah Piranavan. Among the latest discoveries are two human skeletons found without skulls over the past two days, recovered as part of 15 newly unearthed sets of remains.
The excavation work has so far recovered 524 sets of human remains in total. Among the bodies identified during Tuesday's work were the remains of five infants, according to Ranitha Gnanarajah, an attorney observing the excavations on behalf of victims' families. The milestone represents significant progress since the site surpassed 500 identified bodies on the 100th day of excavations.
Concerns about the scale of the mass grave have grown following the discovery of two additional skeletons found at locations beyond the previously marked boundaries of the site. These findings suggest that the actual extent of the grave may be larger than originally demarcated, potentially indicating further remains yet to be discovered. Excavation and investigative work at the site remains ongoing as teams continue to unearth and document the remains.
