Mass grave

right|thumb|Mass grave of 26 victims of the [[Spanish Civil War in 1936, excavated in 2014]]

A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. Mass graves are usually created after many people die or are killed, and there is a desire to bury the corpses quickly for sanitation concerns. Although mass graves can be used during major conflicts such as war and crime, they may also be used after a famine, epidemic, or natural disaster. In disasters, mass graves are used temporarily for infection and disease control. In such cases, there is often a breakdown of the social infrastructure that would enable proper identification and the individual disposal of each body. although an exact definition is not unanimously agreed upon.

Background

Definitions

Many different definitions have been given. The Bournemouth Protocol on Mass Grave Protection and Investigation focuses on circumstances that suggest that the deaths were unlawful. Older definitions focus on the ceremonial aspect, identifying a mass grave as one whose circumstances indicate "no reverence to the individual" was being shown during the burial, regardless of the manner of death.

History

Mass or communal burial was a common practice before the development of a dependable crematory chamber by Ludovico Brunetti in 1873. In ancient Rome waste and dead bodies of the poor were dumped into mass graves called puticuli.

In Paris, the practice of mass burial, and in particular, the condition of the Cimetière des Innocents, led Louis XVI to eliminate Parisian cemeteries. The remains were removed and placed in the Paris underground forming the early Catacombs. Le Cimetière des Innocents alone had 6,000,000 dead to remove. Burial commenced outside the city limits in what is now Père Lachaise Cemetery.

War and mass violence

Mongol Invasion of Kievan Rus' (1223 to 1241)

A mass grave containing at least 300 bodies of victims of a Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' in the year 1238, was discovered during an excavation in 2005, in Yaroslavl, Russia.

Thirty Years' War (1618 to 1648)

A mass grave containing at least 47 soldiers that were brutally massacred following the Battle of Lützen of the Thirty Years' War, in the 17th century, which was Europe's deadliest religious conflict, was exhumed and reported in 2017 of PLOS One magazine. Archaeological and osteological analyses found that the soldiers ranged in age from 15–50 years. Most corpses had evidence of blunt force trauma to the head while seven men had stabbing injuries. Most of the soldiers died from gunshot wounds inflicted by pistols and cavalry carbines.

Napoleonic Wars (1803 to 1815)

Several mass graves have been discovered that were the result of Napoleonic battles, mass graves were dug for expeditious disposal of deceased soldiers and horses. Often soldiers would plunder the substantial quantity of corpses prior to burial. Generally the mass graves were dug by soldiers or members of logistical corps. If these units were not available, the corpses would be left to rot or would be burned. Such examples have been found scattered throughout Europe.

Finnish Civil War (1918)

thumb|upright|The mass grave of the German troops who fell in the [[Battle of Hyvinkää in 1918 during the Finnish Civil War in Hyvinkää, Finland. ]]

Most mass graves dug during the Finnish Civil War hold Reds, the communist Soviet-backed side. Many mass graves are located in uninhabited areas near the sites of the execution including the Pohjois-Haaga mass grave, the Tammisaari mass grave and the Hyvinkää mass grave. The Mustankallio Cemetery holds a mass grave of Reds executed at the Hennala camp.

Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939)

thumb|upright|Mass grave of Spanish Civil War victims in [[El Soleràs]]

There are over 2,000 known mass graves throughout Spain from the Spanish Civil War wherein an estimated 500,000 people died between 1936 and 1939, and approximately 135,000 were killed after the war ended.

Exhumations are ongoing. Some are conducted on the basis of information given in witnesses' and relatives' testimonies to the Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica (ARMH). These testimonies serve the purpose of helping geophysicists, archaeologists and forensic scientists to locate graves in order to identify bodies and allow families to rebury their relatives.

Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 to 1945)

Nanjing Massacre (December 1937 to January 1938)

The Nanjing Massacre (also known as the "Rape of Nanking" using the 1930s Romanization) was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Battle of Nanking and the retreat of the National Revolutionary Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War, by the Imperial Japanese Army. Beginning on 13 December 1937, the massacre lasted six weeks. The perpetrators also committed other war crimes such as mass rape, looting, torture, and arson. The massacre is considered to be one of the worst wartime atrocities.

Datong Mass Grave

Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders

Holocaust (1941 to 1945)

right|thumb|Workers from the town of [[Nordhausen, Thuringia|Nordhausen bury corpses found at Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp in 1945. ]]

The Mittelbau camps held about 60,000 prisoners of The Holocaust between August 1943 and March 1945. Conservative estimates assume that at least 20,000 inmates perished at the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. In early April 1945, an unknown number of prisoners perished in death marches following the evacuation of prisoners from Mittelbau camps to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in northern Germany.

In April 1945, U.S. soldiers liberated the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. Only a few prisoners were still in the camp and the U.S. soldiers found the remains of approximately 1,300 prisoners in the Boelcke barracks.

1948 Israeli Independence War

Hadassah medical convoy massacre (13 April 1948)

The Hadassah convoy massacre took place on 13 April 1948, when a convoy, escorted by Haganah militia, bringing medical and military supplies and personnel to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, was ambushed by Arab forces. The attack killed 79 people, including: medics, associated personnel, insurgent fighters from the Haganah, and one British soldier. Dozens of unidentified bodies, burned beyond recognition, were buried in a mass grave in the Sanhedria Cemetery.

Tantura massacre (23 May 1948)

Tantura was a Palestinian fishing village. Historians and Palestinian survivors claimed the men in Tantura were the victims of a mass execution after surrendering to the Alexandroni Brigade, and then their bodies buried in a mass grave. a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London. The grave is currently under the carpark of a popular Israeli beach.

Korean War (1950 to 1953)

Approximately 100,000–200,000 civilians were killed at the start of the Korean War. These people were flagged by the government of South Korea for potentially collaborating with or sympathizing with North Korea. They were arrested and subsequently executed without trial. The sites where the massacres occurred were forbidden to the public. The bodies were considered to be traitors and the act of associating with them was considered treasonous. The estimated death toll was between 2,800 and 6,000 civilians and prisoners of war, or 5–10% of the total population of Huế.

In Quang Ngai, a mass grave of 10 soldiers was discovered on 28 December 2011. These soldiers were buried alongside their belongings including wallets, backpacks, guns, ammunition, mirrors, and combs.

Other larger mass graves of Vietnamese soldiers are believed to exist, with hundreds of soldiers in each grave.

Six Day War (1967)

Israeli military historian Aryeh Yitzhaki, who worked in the IDF's history department, said he had collected testimony from dozens of officers who admitted to killing Egyptian prisoners of war at various locations during the Six Day War.

Ras Sedr massacre (8 June 1967)

Ras Sedr massacre () was the extrajudicial execution of at least 52 Egyptian prisoners of war by a paratrooper unit of the Israel Defense Forces, that took place immediately after the unit conquered Ras Sedr in the Sinai Peninsula on 8 June 1967 during the Six-Day War. According to the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the Israeli Defense Forces massacred "hundreds" of Egyptian prisoners of war or wounded soldiers in the Sinai peninsula, on 8 June 1967. Survivors alleged that approximately 400 wounded Egyptians were buried alive outside the captured El Arish International Airport, and that 150 prisoners in the mountains of the Sinai were run over by Israeli tanks. Egyptian researchers have found mass graves of Egyptian POWs from 1967. The expedition was sponsored by al-Ahram, Cairo's government-run newspaper in 1995. Conservative Israeli media and the Boston-based pro-Israel media advocacy organization "CAMERA" deny that there was a "massacre".

Graves at Kibbutz Nahshon

After the Six-Day War in 1967, some 80 Egyptian soldiers were buried in a mass-grave in fields tended by kibbutz Nahshon. The field was later turned into a theme park called "Mini Israel". The commanders included 25 who burnt to death in a wild fire.

1973 Yom Kippur War

On the 6th of October 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a simultaneous surprise attack on Israel in an attempt to recover lost territories during the Six Day War. In retaliation for the previous killings of Egyptians pows in previous wars, Egyptian forces shot dozens of Israeli POW's to death. In subsequent years, remains of Israeli POW's were found on the ruins of the Bar Lev Line. Israeli historian Ariel Yitzhak estimated that 200 Israelis were shot dead by the Egyptians during the war. An Israeli soldier stated that he saw 11 of his fellow soldiers getting shot dead by Egyptian forces.

1973 Chilean coup d'état

The Chilean military coup against President Salvador Allende occurred on 11 September 1973. The military surrounded Santiago and searched for people hiding in potential guerilla insurgent locations. Civilians were detained for long periods of time and some disappeared. On 3 August, 14 Greek Cypriot civilians were executed and buried in a mass grave. In Eptakomi 12 Greek Cypriots were found in a mass grave executed with their hands tied. On the other hand, during the Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre, 126 Turkish Cypriots including elderly people and children were murdered by EOKA B and the inhabitants of the three villages were buried in mass graves with a bulldozer. The villagers of Maratha and Santalaris, 84 to 89 people in total, were buried in the same grave. Mass graves were used to bury Turkish Cypriot victims of Tochni massacre too. The genocide lasted 100 days and resulted in an estimated 800,000 killings.

Rwandan people sought refuge in gathering places such as churches and stadiums. An estimated 4,000–6,000 people gathered in Kibuye Catholic Church. Around 17 April 1994, the church was surrounded by armed civilians, police and gendarmes. Those inside were attacked with a variety of weapons including grenades, guns, and machetes. Survivors of the attack were sought after and killed in the following days. Burial of these bodies took place in at least four mass graves.

The first mass grave resulting from this attack was discovered behind the church where several bodies were left unburied and scattered. In December 1995, archaeologists surveyed the area and flagged any potential human remains. In January 1996, forensic anthropologists located and exhumed 53 skeletal assemblages.

Srebrenica massacre (1995)

thumb|Delegates of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) examine an exhumed mass grave of victims of the July 1995 [[Srebrenica massacre, outside the village of Potočari, Bosnia and Herzegovina. July 2007.]]

Victims of the Srebrenica massacre were murdered by the Army of Republika Srpska and buried in mass graves. Serb forces used mass graves throughout the Bosnian War and thousands of victims remain unidentified as of 2017.

Second Libyan Civil War (2014 to 2020)

The Second Libyan Civil War that began in 2014 is a proxy war between the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) of Fayez al-Sarraj and the Libyan National Army (LNA) of the militia leader Khalifa Haftar. In 2020, the GNA ousted the forces of Haftar, who is backed by the United Arab Emirates and Russia, and captured Tarhuna. The GNA discovered mass graves in the Harouda farm of the town that was under the control of the Kaniyat militiamen, who allied with Haftar in 2019. For a decade, the Kaniyat militia brutalized and killed more than a thousand civilians, where around 650 were murdered in 14 months under the UAE-backed Haftar forces. Thousands of holes were dug by government workers, where 120 bodies recovered. The unearthed remains were used by the families to identify the missing members and only 59 bodies were claimed. Survivors reported that the Kaniyat militia aligned with the UAE-backed Haftar tortured or electrocuted them. Many also reported being beaten by the militia.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine (2022 to present)

thumb|Photo of civilians shot in Bucha, one with wrists tied.

Bucha

On 1 April 2022, following the Russian withdrawal, video footage was posted to social media, that showed mass civilian casualties. By 9 April, Ukrainian forensic investigators had begun recovering bodies from mass graves, such as at the church of Andrew the Apostle. 116 bodies were found in the mass grave near the Church of Andrew the Apostle. On 21 April, Human Rights Watch published an extensive report that summarized their own investigation in Bucha, implicating Russian troops in summary executions, other unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, and torture.

Mariupol

Mariupol's deputy mayor Serhii Orlov stated on 9 March 2022 that at least 1,170 civilians in the city had been killed in the city since Russia's invasion began and the dead were being buried in mass graves.

By April 2022 several new mass graves located in vicinity of Mariupol were discovered using satellite footage.

In early November 2022, Ukraine stated that at least 25,000 civilians had been killed in Mariupol. In late December 2022, based on the discovery of 10,300 new mass graves, the Associated Press estimated that the true death toll may be up to three times that figure.

Izium

On 15 September 2022, several mass graves, including one site containing at least 440 bodies were found in woods near the Ukrainian city of Izium after it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces. The graves contained bodies of people who were killed by Russian forces. One of the victims was a Ukrainian poet, children's writer, activist and Wikipedian Volodymyr Vakulenko.

According to Ukrainian investigators, 447 bodies were discovered: 414 bodies of civilians (215 men, 194 women, 5 children), 22 servicemen, and 11 bodies whose gender had not yet been determined as of 23 September 2022. Most of the dead showed signs of violent death and 30 presented traces of torture and summary execution, including ropes around their necks, bound hands, broken limbs and genital amputation.

Gaza War (2023 to present)

Nasser Medical Complex, Khan Yunis

In April 2024, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, over 300 bodies were unearthed at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza. According to Colonel Yamen Abu Suleiman some of the bodies exhibited signs of having been bound and potentially executed in the field.

According to a report by France24, based on analysis of photographs and video, the location of the exhumations is in the same place as earlier mass burials conducted by Palestinians. Geoconfirmed presented a similar analysis, saying that the exhumations took place at the same location as the earlier mass burials conducted by Palestinians, although they didn't exclude the possibility that the graves had been added to by Israeli forces.

Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City

On 14 November 2023, officials at Al-Shifa hospital announced they had buried 179 bodies in a mass grave in the courtyard of the hospital. In April 2024, health workers in Gaza started exhuming bodies from the mass graves at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, following their two-week siege. At least 381 bodies were recovered. Officials claim that many bodies showed signs of severe trauma, including being crushed or disfigured, and claim this is partially the result of being run over by Israeli tanks during the battle. The bodies included people buried both in graves and above-ground remains, some under dirt or plastic sheeting.

Rafah paramedic massacre

Mass executions

thumb| alt= 17 men, most in military uniform, stand in a cemetery, inspecting two graves. | [[Secretary of State of the Vichy regime Fernand de Brinon and others in Katyn at the graves of Mieczysław Smorawiński and Bronisław Bohaterewicz, April 1943. ]]

thumb| People of [[Vinnytsia searching for relatives among the victims of the Vinnytsia massacre exhumed from a mass grave in 1943. ]]

Soviet mass killings

<!-- -->

In July 2010, a mass grave was discovered next to the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, containing the corpses of 80 military officers executed during the Red Terror of 1918–1921. By 2013 a total of 156 bodies had been found in the same location. At about the same time a mass grave from the Stalinist period was discovered in Vladivostok, on Russia's Pacific coast.

Communist regime massacres in Yugoslavia

<!-- thumb|150px| [[Selo pri Pancah|Vodice Mass grave sign, Slovenia. ]] -->

• Bleiburg repatriations
• Communist purges against Hungarians and Germans in Serbia in 1944–45
• Barbara Pit massacre
• Mass graves in Slovenia

Islamic State in Mosul

During the Islamic State occupation of Mosul from 2014 to 2017, the city became a site of horrific atrocities, including the creation of numerous mass graves. Islamic State militants carried out widespread executions targeting Iraqi security forces, minority communities like Yazidis and Shi'ites, journalists, suspected dissidents, and civilians who opposed their rule. After Mosul was liberated in 2017, investigators uncovered dozens of mass grave sites in and around the city, with some of the most notorious located in areas like Badush and Hamam al-Alil.

Islamic persecution of Christians

Christianity is the second most persecuted religion in the world, after Judaism. The violent persecution of Christians worldwide has been increasing constantly in number, type of attacks, and degree of violence. Particularly, violent persecution involving mass killings have been[https://persecution.org/2025/06/06/the-not-so-secret-discrimination-of-christians-in-islamic-led-countries/#:~:text=Other%20nations%20that%20persecute%20Christians%20include:%20*,under%20Sharia%20practices%20and%20Islamist%20extremist%20prejudice.] perpetrated in Muslim-majority countries, such as in Pakistan with the complicity of the government, and by Muslim groups and Islamic groups, such as by the Islamic State and Boko Haram. This has therefore seen most of the attacks in Africa and the Middle East.

A list of a very few of the massacres in only the last few years:

• Kasanga massacre
• Yelwata massacre
• 2023 Plateau State massacres
• Komanda massacre

In Nigeria only, more than 60,000 Christians have been slaughtered in the last two decades solely for their faith (In Odium Fidei).

Residential institutions

Mother and baby homes

Bethany Home

In 2010, the bodies of 222 infants from Bethany Home, were found in a mass unmarked grave in Dublin.

Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home

Canadian residential schools

The Canadian Indian residential school system