A MASS grave dating back to the Spanish Civil War has been unearthed in Malaga province nearly 90 years on, as up to nine people feared to have been buried there.
Archaeologists found a burial chamber with at least three victims in the first phase of excavations in Arriate, just north of Ronda.
Two of them were buried faced down, while the third showed signs of having his hands tied.
The victims are believed to have been killed at the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, following General Francisco Franco’s military uprising.
READ MORE: Mass grave shock in Malaga: 73 Civil War victims exhumed – one in five were women
Arriate’s town hall spokesman, Rafael Melgar, told the Olive Press that up to nine men could have been buried in the grave.
For the rest of the deceased, it is believed that they have been victims to the campaign of arrests, executions, imprisonment, and persecution carried out by the forces loyal to General Franco in 1937.
The names of eight possible victims have already been identified, all of them men, including two brothers.
Experts rely on witness testimonies, reprisal lists, and court-martial records for their excavations.
According to historical records, the site is believed to have been used for firing squad executions.
The team has been searching for the site since last April. The work is being carried out under a Spanish government programme that funds the search for Civil War and Franco-era mass graves.
Across inland Andalusia, teams are still exhuming mass graves in the hope of identifying victims and returning their remains to their families. Yet many cases remain unresolved, including one of the war’s most enduring mysteries: the fate of Spain’s celebrated poet, Federico García Lorca.
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