Excavation of a mass grave in Cazalla de la Sierra, Sevilla, has so far uncovered the remains of eight people who were shot in 1936 and 1937, with shell casings in the vicinity of the bodies. It is thought that the grave, several layers deep, could contain as many as 300 corpses.
The pit measures 21m x 5m x 2.18m and more than likely contains the bodies of the last Republican government of neighbouring Alanís de la Sierra.
Some of the bodies so far excavated show signs of entry and exit wounds in their skulls, hands tied behind their backs and postures suggesting they were kneeling on the edge of the pit when executed.
The excavations have not been easy as most oral reports placed the grave at the foot of a wall whereas it is actually eight metres inside the local cemetery.
Identification of the remains is not going to be easy, given their condition, but amongst the possible three hundred victims are thought to be the Mayor José García Galindo, Deputy Mayor Manuel Garcia Espinola, the stationmaster Pedro Doctor Arruga and José Campos “El Pepino” and his wife Antonia González, shot between September and October 1936.