A 15th century graveyard containing ten bodies has been discovered at the archaeological site at San Marcial de Rubicón, near the beaches of Papagayo.
After previous announcement of discoveries of bodies, the archaeological team at the dig have said that “the arrangement of the bodies suggests a burial ground”.
Of particular interest are the remains of two children and a baby. DNA tests have been ordered to confirm whether they are the first mixed race aboriginal/Europeans to be discovered on the Canaries.
María del Cristo González and Esther Chávez, who are in charge of the dig, now wish to investigate the burial ground more closely to discover its purpose. They suggest it could be an aboriginal graveyard, but that it is more probable that it was used to bury natives who had been converted to Christianity.
They also suggest it may be a Christian burial ground, used provisionally while a church was being built.
The Canarian Government has already expressed its intention to create an educational centre at San Marcial de Rubicón, the site of the first European colony on the Canary Islands.
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