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Event

Mannar mass grave, found 2018

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Details

Place

A former co-operative depot near the main bus terminus in Mannar

Count

More than 230 skeletons excavated by 23 November 2018, according to the BBC report carried by Daily FT

Cause

The BBC report said the victims and the cause of death were still unclear

Earlier

The BBC report said the remains of 96 people were found near the Thiruketheeswaram temple in Mannar in 2014

Dating

Ada Derana reported on 16 June 2026 that 342 individuals were unearthed at the site in 2018 to 2019 and that a US laboratory’s carbon-dating placed the remains between 1450 and 1650 AD

Appears on

Disappearances and wartime killings

Connections (3)

• Office on Missing Persons / Partly funds the excavation of / Mannar mass grave, found 2018
  • The BBC report says the Office on Missing Persons partly funds the excavation, and that the Mannar court will decide next steps once it ends.23 Nov 2018 · BBC (via Daily FT) · Sri Lanka mass graves: 230 skeletons found at country's largest site
  • Daily Mirror reports that its chairman said the office had intervened at the site and that excavation had been delayed by a lack of funds.24 Aug 2018 · Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) · Some 20,000 could be missing due to war since 83: OMP
• Sri Lanka Army / Rejects any suggestion that soldiers are linked to / Mannar mass grave, found 2018
  • The BBC report says the army rejects any suggestion that soldiers are linked to the remains, and that the government denies its forces caused civilian deaths or disappearances.23 Nov 2018 · BBC (via Daily FT) · Sri Lanka mass graves: 230 skeletons found at country's largest site
• Chemmani mass grave, Jaffna / Reported to exceed the size of / Mannar mass grave, found 2018
  • Reports that Chemmani became the largest mass grave recorded in the Northern Province in recent history, and that the Mannar site, with 342 individuals unearthed in 2018 to 2019, had been considered the largest in the region.16 Jun 2026 · Ada Derana · Chemmani becomes largest mass grave unearthed in Northern Province as exhumed remains exceed 350