Madrid: A 500-year-old mystery related to human bones found in Seville Cathedral, Spain has been revealed. By doing DNA analysis on the bones, scientists found that they belonged to Christopher Columbus. With this, the burial place of Christopher Columbus has finally been revealed. For the past two decades, experts have been comparing DNA taken from samples with that of relatives and descendants, which led to this unprecedented discovery. Christopher Columbus died in 1506. Even after his death, his body was moved around several times. Some people believed that he was buried in the Dominican Republic. These claims sparked a search to locate his actual remains. Forensic scientist Miguel Lorente, who led the research, said, ‘Today, through new technology, it has become possible to verify that the remains belong to Christopher Columbus.’ Scientists previously believed that the tomb inside the cathedral contained Columbus’s body, but this was not true.
This is how the search was done
In 2003 Llorente and historian Marcial Castro opened the tomb, where they found previously unknown bones. Since then, research continued for two decades. At that time, DNA technology was not capable enough to test small amounts of genetic material and give accurate results. For this reason, explorers studied the bones of Columbus’s son Hernando and brother Diego, who were buried in the same Seville Cathedral.
Who was Columbus?
Study of the remains of relatives made it easier to identify Columbus. One reason for this was that their bones were much larger than those found in Columbus’s grave. Columbus was an Italian explorer who set out to find a direct sea route from Europe to Asia. The Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile funded his trip. In 1492 his group set out with three ships. Instead of going to Asia, he discovered North America, about which hardly anyone knew till then.