Excavation work at the Chemmani mass grave site near Jaffna reached its 100th day on Friday, with the number of human skeletal remains identified passing 500, the Daily Mirror reported.

Eight new sets of remains were identified on the 100th day, bringing the total to 507. Of those, 501 sets have been fully excavated and recovered.

Friday marked the 46th day of the current phase of excavation. The court granted permission for this third phase to run for 56 days, leaving 10 days of authorised work remaining.

A steadily rising count

The tally has climbed sharply through the northern winter. Two days earlier, on the 44th day of the phase, Tamil Guardian reported the total at 491 sets identified, of which 489 had been fully exhumed, after eight further sets were recorded that day. The count stood at 454 in late July, when an EU delegation was granted access to the site.

Chemmani is the largest mass grave uncovered in Sri Lanka. Excavations began in May 2025 under court orders and have proceeded in three phases, interrupted by repeated suspensions.

Court presses for forensic reports

At an open court session held at the excavation site on Wednesday, before Jaffna Magistrate Selvanayagam Leninkumar, officials discussed the next stages of the investigation, Tamil Guardian reported.

Forensic archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva and Judicial Medical Officer Dr. Selliah Pranavan put forward proposals on continuing the dig. The court agreed that a comprehensive report on the Ground Penetrating Radar survey previously carried out at the site should be submitted, together with its scientific interpretation, alongside a separate report detailing the evidence and other material already recovered.

The site was first linked to enforced disappearances in 1998, when a soldier testifying in the trial over the abduction and murder of schoolgirl Krishanthi Kumaraswamy said Tamils who disappeared in the custody of the security forces had been buried there. Rights groups have pressed for international oversight of the investigation.

Sources: Daily Mirror, Tamil Guardian.