MADRID: Experts searching for the remains of Miguel de Cervantes have started what they hope will be the final phase of their nine-month quest to solve the mystery of where the great Spanish writer was laid to rest.

The author of “Don Quixote” was buried in 1616 at the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in Madrid’s historic Barrio de las Letras, or Literary Quarter, but the exact whereabouts of his grave within the tiny convent chapel are unknown.

A team of archaeologists and anthropologists decided to start excavations at the site after identifying what they believe are three unrecorded and unidentified graves in the chapel’s crypt. Those bones were being exhumed and analysed.

Cervantes is a towering figure in Spanish culture. His novel — “The Adventures of the Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha” — changed Spanish literature. His wife, Catalina Salazar, was also buried at the convent, although the location her grave also remains a mystery.

Published in Dawn January 25th , 2015

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