Excavation begins for remains of 800 infants at Ireland home
Forensic archaeologists flown in to analyse mass grave
- Forensic archaeologists and crime scene experts are set to begin excavating and identifying the remains of approximately 800 infants at a former church-run home in Tuam, Ireland.
- The remains of 802 children, aged from newborns to three-year-olds, were buried at the home for unmarried mothers between 1925 and 1961.
- A government investigation, launched after an amateur historian uncovered evidence of an unmarked mass grave, found an "appalling" 15 per cent mortality rate among children in Catholic Church-run homes.
- The excavation project is described as "incredibly complex" due to co-mingled remains, difficulty in determining the gender of infants, and challenges with DNA recovery and archival data.
- The dig is expected to take around two years, with specialists from multiple countries collaborating on the sensitive project.