File photograph: Excavations taking place at Chemmani mass grave.
The third phase of excavation activities at the Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna was temporarily halted on Saturday, May 9, and is scheduled to resume on June 1.
Excavation work under the third phase began on April 28 and had continued uninterrupted for 12 consecutive days until May 9.
During Saturday’s excavation activities, a new human skeletal remain was identified, while five previously identified skeletal remains were excavated from the site.
Accordingly, a total of 261 human skeletal remains have so far been identified and excavated from the Chemmani mass grave site.
Over the course of the past 12 days of excavation work carried out under the third phase, 21 skeletal remains were identified and exhumed.
In addition to the skeletal remains, 17 other items were recovered from the site and submitted before court authorities. These included a nose stud, coin fragments, nails, and fragments of a yellow-coloured bangle.
Meanwhile, preparations were also carried out on Saturday to clear overgrown grass in areas where excavation work is expected to continue when operations resume next month.