An excavation at the site of a former Catholic home for babies and unmarried women was launched on Monday by officials in Ireland to identify the remains of roughly 800 babies and young children who died at the home.
According to The Associated Press, the excavation was launched by Irish authorities this week at the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, which is located in the western part of Ireland. The outlet noted that the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, which was run by Catholic nuns until it was shut down in 1961, was one of many similar institutions that provided homes for unmarried pregnant women and orphans throughout the 20th century in Ireland.
The Associated Press reported that historian Catherine Coreless investigated almost 800 death certificates in 2014 for almost 800 babies and young children who died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home from the 1920s to 1961. However, despite tracking down hundreds of death certificates, Coreless was only able to find one child’s burial record, according to the outlet.
After the historian’s investigation, investigators discovered a mass grave located in an underground sewage structure on the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home property that contained the remains of young children and babies, according to The Associated Press. The outlet noted that a DNA analysis determined that the remains were from children as young as 35 weeks of gestation to children as old as 3 years.
READ MORE: Pics: Suspect arrested for digging up grave site
“It’s a very, very difficult, harrowing story and situation,” Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said in a Monday statement obtained by The Associated Press. “We have to wait to see what unfolds now as a result of the excavation.”
According to The Associated Press, Daniel MacSweeney, who is leading the excavation effort at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home property, explained that survivors and family members will be able to view the progress at the mass grave site in a matter of weeks. However, the outlet reported that the excavation project could take a total of two years.
MacSweeney said, “This is a unique and incredibly complex excavation.”
The Associated Press reported that the remains recovered from the excavation site will be preserved and analyzed by forensic experts and that identified remains will be returned to the family members of the deceased babies and young children.
