A DECADES-long mystery surrounding the final resting place of Christopher Columbus may have finally been solved.
A new scientific study has boosted Sevilla’s claim that they host his tomb after a DNA analysis confirmed that at least some remains of the explorer are housed there.
A team of Spanish researchers, using advanced DNA analysis, have positively identified the remains of the man who discovered the Americas in the Cathedral of Sevilla.
READ MORE: This is the best city in Spain for an October getaway, according to The Times
The years-long study, by scientists at the University of Granada, involved analysing small bone fragments and comparing the DNA to that of Columbus’s direct descendants.
The results, which will be detailed in a forthcoming documentary, provide the strongest evidence yet that the explorer’s final resting place is indeed in Spain.
It will go some way to easing the years-long debate between historians and archaeologists over the location of Columbus’s tomb.
“This is a groundbreaking discovery that settles a long-standing historical debate,” said Jose Antonio Lorente, the lead researcher on the project.
“We can now say with absolute certainty that Christopher Columbus is buried in Sevilla Cathedral.”
Columbus’s burial has always been a subject of great controversy.
Although he passed away in Valladolid in 1505, his body embarked on a long journey, travelling from Spain to the Dominican Republic, then to Cuba, before being returned to Seville in 1898.
Over the years, questions have arisen about whether the remains in Seville are truly those of Columbus or, as the Dominicans claim, of his son Diego.
Yet, thanks to cutting-edge technology and cooperation with international laboratories, scientists have now confirmed the authenticity of the remains in Sevilla.
This confirmation is expected to put an end to the debate once and for all, at least on the question of Columbus’s final resting place.
Click here to read more Sevilla News from The Olive Press.
