Mystery deepens around poet Lorca's bones

Dec 16, 2009, 9:55 GMT

Madrid - The mystery deepened Wednesday around the lost bones of Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain's most acclaimed modern poet, after experts appeared to have failed to locate the mass grave near Grenada in which he is alleged to be buried.

The author of Gypsy Ballads is believed to have been shot dead by supporters of right-wing General Francisco Franco at age 38 at the start of Spain's 1936-39 civil war.

Lorca and five others are thought to be buried in the same mass grave in Alfacar near the southern city of Granada, where the authorities planted a park to mark the site.

'I still think that Lorca is there, very close to where they are searching' for him, Lorca historian Ian Gibson told the daily El Pais.

Historians such as Gibson have insisted on opening the site to confirm the thruth about Lorca's death and to give the poet a dignified burial.

Lorca's descendants, however, are opposed to opening the grave, arguing that would single the poet out from anonymous war victims. Most of the relatives of the others supposedly buried in the grave wanted it to be opened.

The regional authorities finally authorized the excavation of the area, but two months of work have produced no result.

Four out of six possible grave sites have been opened without bones being found. The entire excavation is due to be concluded in the coming week.

The lack of results has fuelled other theories about Lorca's burial.

One of them claims that Franco was worried about international protests against the execution of the poet.

The dictator-to-be thus ordered the mass grave to be emptied, and Lorca's remains to be reburied in an unknown location, according to one theory.