Imogen Calderwood
HUMAN remains have been discovered in four different sites in the hunt for Spain’s most famous author.
For three months, archaeologists have been excavating at a Madrid church, where Miguel de Cervantes is believed to have been buried in 1616.
All four sets of bones were found in cavities located around 1.5-2 metres beneath the Las Trinitarias church – in the Las Letras neighbourhood – by geo radar scans.
The discovery represents a new phase in the search for the Don Quixote author, as it moves into scientific analysis of the finds.
Specialist Francisco Etxeberria will now examine the remains to discover which, if any, belong to Cervantes.
Before beginning the search, archaeologists emphasised the ‘vital importance’ of finding the distinctive bones of the author’s left forearm, as ‘the bones of his left hand were crippled and both sides of his jaw were toothless’.
The investigation, which is expected to reach €100,000, is hoped to be completed by the end of 2014.
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