The first human remains have been found during excavations at the Figueretes mass graves in Ibiza.

PalmThe Balearic Government has documented the first human remains in the first excavation of the Fifth Plan for Mass Graves at the Les Figueretes cemetery in Ibiza, which began on November 18th. The work, led by the Aranzadi-ATICS team and comprised of nine specialists in archaeology and forensic anthropology, is progressing in several test pits opened in the area where, according to preliminary studies, victims could be located. According to the Ministry of the Presidency, Coordination of Government Action, and Local Cooperation, a projectile from a Spanish Mauser rifle was identified in the first few days of the operation, an indication that strengthened the working hypotheses.

In Trench 2, the team has located several remains, most notably an adult male skull with fractures consistent with gunshot wounds. These preliminary results are consistent with the findings of previous campaigns carried out in the same cemetery, which in 2024 led to the identification of three victims, the first identified on the island of Ibiza (Mariano Castelló Castelló, Bartolomé Costa Serra, and Josep Vidal Ramon). Work on the Fifth Plan for Mass Graves will continue in the coming weeks with the aim of defining new areas, studying the recovered remains, and advancing the identification process using forensic anthropology techniques and genetic analysis. The Government has stated that with these advances it reaffirms its commitment to continue the exhumation and identification of those who disappeared as a result of the Civil War and the Franco regime, in order to give them a dignified burial.