'Unique' almost 300-year-old mass grave found in Narva
A "unique" almost 300-year-old mass grave has been discovered in the center of Narva during renovation work. Researchers called the find "unexpected".
The grave was discovered during the construction of Stockholmi väljak (Stockholm Square) which is being built next to the Town Hall.
Old burial sites have been uncovered before in Estonia, but they have usually been found in cemeteries.
In this case, people were buried between houses in an urban environment.
The skeletons are several hundred years old and will now be moved to the University of Tartu's archeology laboratory for further investigation.
"We now know that there is an adult woman buried, say somewhere over 40 years old, and at least one two-to-three-year-old child, one infant, and another small child. It is probably some kind of accident, for example, a war, a plague, or even a famine," said bone researcher Martin Malve.
It is thought the remains are likely to be from the second half of the 17th century or the start of the 18th century due to the depth they were buried at.
Malve said it's scientifically important to preserve the find due to its uniqueness and that it might be able to shed more light on the events that befell Estonia during this time.
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Editor: Barbara Oja, Helen Wright
Source: Aktuaalne kaamera
