Uncertainty, if bodies date back to 1944 or 1918
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A mass grave containing the remains of 11 men has been unearthed at the Huhtiniemi camping grounds in the southeastern city of Lappeenranta.
Initial examinations indicate that ten of the bodies are those of adult men, the youngest of whom was between the ages of 20 and 22 when he died. The eleventh body had not yet been removed on Tuesday.
"At this stage there is no indication of the cause of death", says forensic dentist [link= http://www.hs.fi/haku/?haku=Helena+Ranta ]Helena Ranta[/link].
The bodies were buried without coffins at a depth of about one metre. The investigators have not yet been able to ascertain the identities of the bodies, or when they were buried.
Metal objects found around the necks of the bodies could help in determining the time of death.
The location of the mass grave is a few metres from where another mass grave containing ten bodies was accidentally unearthed in 1971.
A research team began excavations in Huhtiniemi early this month. The aim of the investigation is to ascertain the veracity of rumours that a number of wartime deserters had been executed and buried there near the end of the Continuation War in 1944.
The new discovery does not offer any answers to the mystery, because the bodies could also date back to the Civil War of 1918.
[link= http://www.hs.fi/haku/?haku=Mika+Lavento ]Mika Lavento[/link], a professor of archaeology responsible for the dig, believes that more bodies are likely to be found.
Responsibility for the investigation is now shifting to the National Bureau of Investigation.
The excavations at the camping ground are to continue until the end of the month. The skeletons are to be brought to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Helsinki for examination.
The camping area is closed to outsiders, and is under round-the-clock police guard.
Helsingin Sanomat
[link= http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Remains+of+11+men+found+in+mass+grave+in+southeastern+Finland/1135222399629 ]http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Remains+of+11+men+found+in+mass+grave+in+southeastern+Finland/1135222399629[/link]
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