Archaeologists May Be Closer to Finding Poet Federico García Lorca's Body

A newly discovered bullet may finally help locate the body of Federico García Lorca, the poet and playwright who is considered to be one of Spain’s most important 20th century writers. The bullet was found by archaeologists looking for clues of Lorca’s burial location near Granada, according to The Telegraph.

García Lorca was taken from his home in Granada and executed by fascist militants in 1936, during the outset of the Spanish Civil War. Even decades after his death, officials in dictator Francisco Franco’s government—which banned the author's works—refused to admit involvement in the murder, and much about his death remains a mystery. For years, archaeologists have been searching for his missing body, believed to be dumped in a well. The photo above is from a 2014 search.

The bullet was found in early October near a town called Viznar, buried underground at what would have been ground level in 1936—before it was covered in more dirt as part of a plan to make the area into a soccer field. Volunteers have also found clues as to the location of two of three wells known to exist in the area, heightening the chances of finding García Lorca's remains. However, the excavation project is running low on funds, and García Lorca's family is opposed to exhuming his body, wherever it may be, putting a potential damper on any future discoveries.

Though he is the most famous example, his is not the only body still missing eight decades after the end of the civil war. There are an estimated 100,000 people still unaccounted for. There are more than 2000 mass graves from the war, according to a countrywide map and database released by the Spanish government in 2011.

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