Long lost grave of 'Don Quixote' author Cervantes finally found

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Nearly four centuries after his death, a team of forensic scientists has apparently discovered the remains of Miguel de Cervantes, the Spanish novelist who wrote The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, various media outlets reported earlier this week.

According to BBC News, the researchers found the bones of Cervantes, his wife and other that were buried with him at the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in Madrid. The author had been originally buried in 1616, but his remains were to be relocated when the convent was rebuilt in the late 17th century. Somewhere along the way, however, his coffin was misplaced.

Bad state of conservation

The discovery was announced by forensic anthropologist Francisco Etxeberría during a Tuesday news conference, National Geographic reported. Etxeberría said that the remains were found along in a tomb along with bones belonging to 15 other men and women, and that their presence was first uncovered by ground-penetrating radar scans conducted by his team in April 2014.

[STORY: Asteroid Don Quixote is actually a comet]

After locating the likely burial plot, a team of 30 researchers began excavations which found the remains of more than 200 burials. One of the tombs contained bones and clothing consistent with a date from the early 17th century. Cervantes died in 1616 at the age of 68, the website added.

“The remains are in a bad state of conservation and do not allow us to do an individual identification of Miguel de Cervantes,” one of the forensic scientists behind the discovery, Almudena Garcia Rubio, told the BBC. “But we are sure what the historical sources say is the burial of Miguel de Cervantes and the other people buried with him is what we have found.”

The researchers hope that DNA analysis will allow them to separate the bones belonging to the author from those of the others buried with him. If they are successful, it will enable Cervantes to be reburied “with full honors” at the same convent after a new tomb was constructed, Luis Avial, the search team’s georadar expert, said during the Tuesday press conference.

Cervantes still dealing with an uphill battle

One possible obstacle to that genetic analysis is the fact that there are no known descendants of the author still alive today. His sister is believed to have been buried somewhere near Madrid, so a sample of her DNA might be able to provide a match. However, it is not clear at this point if an exhumation of her remains would be allowed, or if the body would provide a usable sample.

[STORY: Upward sword thrust through neck, brain killed Richard III]

As Nat Geo explained, the author was shot three times by Turkish troops at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, when he was 24. One of the bullets broke the radius and ulna of his left arm, preventing it from ever being used again. There may still be evidence of that injury in the bones, but thus far there are no reports of evidence of any such trauma in any of the skeletons.

In addition to writing Don Quixote and fighting in the Battle of Lepanto, Cervantes fathered an illegitimate daughter, spent time in debtor’s prison, and was held captive by Barbary pirates for five years, from 1575 to 1580. His ransom money was raised with the assistance of the convent where he was buried, and his request to be buried was out of gratitude for that act.

Next year marks the 400th anniversary of Cervantes’s death, and Nat Geo said that the team expects the new crypt will be open to the public by that time. Thus far, there have been no new or surprising revelations resulting from the study of the remains, but Pedro Corral, head of art, sport and tourism at Madrid city council, told BBC news that the project was a way to honor the memory of the late author and encourage people to learn more about him.

—–

Follow redOrbit on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.

redOrbit.com
offers Science, Space, Technology, Health news, videos, images and
reference information. For the latest science news, space news,
technology news, health news visit redOrbit.com frequently. Learn
something new every day.”

Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113356521/long-lost-grave-of-don-quixote-author-cervantes-finally-found-032015/