Histagra begins work at Beira (Carral) to locate one of the burial sites of victims of Francoist violence

 

Next Monday, 6 July, archaeological excavation work will begin at the Beira (Carral) cemetery, coordinated by the Histagra research group (USC-CISPAC), with the aim of determining the location of one of the mass graves from Franco’s regime that exist on the site.

 

This initial trial excavation, which will last for two weeks, follows historical research that has shed further light on the modus operandi of the repression and on the changes to the cemetery site since 1936. It is known that at least 18 people were murdered and buried in various mass graves located in Orilla, although there are indications that the number could be higher. The study was carried out in collaboration with the Cultura Abierta association of Carral, which in 2023 unveiled a memorial to the victims at this cemetery in Beira.

 

This work forms part of the agreement signed by the Provincial Council of A Coruña and the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) for historical, archaeological and forensic research into the mass graves from the Franco regime in Beira (Carral), Serantes (Ferrol) and Boisaca (Santiago de Compostela). A multidisciplinary team from the USC is responsible for carrying out the research under the scientific coordination of Lourenzo Fernández Prieto and Antonio Míguez Macho, historians specialising in this field who are members of the Histagra research group (USC-CISPAC). Histagra is also responsible for conducting the historical analysis through the work of researchers Xurxo Antelo and Lucía Santiago. The archaeological study is coordinated by José Carlos Sánchez Pardo (USC-CISPAC), an archaeologist and member of the AEVUM and CISPAC research groups, and the company Tempos Arquéologos is carrying out the fieldwork. The forensic anthropology analysis is coordinated by researcher Edgard Camarós (USC-CISPAC), a member of the GEPN-AAT and CISPAC research groups.