Skeleton remains of six people, some handcuffed, discovered in a cave in the town of Gáldar on Gran Canaria

The skeleton remains of six people were discovered in a cave near the town of Gáldar on the island of Gran Canaria with some of them appearing to be handcuffed.

The Cabildo de Gran Canaria reported yesterday, Thursday, April 20, on the discovery of human skeletons and bone remains in a cave in the municipality of Gáldar. Specifically, the remains were located on a cliff in Caleta de Arriba in the northwest of the island.

Specifically, the bones of six people were located in an archaeological dig in what they believe could be a burial site. Researchers are analysing the finding, which is a shocking discovery because some of the people appeared to have been buried handcuffed and lying face down.

In a tweet, accompanied by images of the skeletons, the Cabildo Gran Canaria wrote: “We have recovered the bones of six people in Gáldar. Human remains found in an archaeological site. It could be a funeral use, but it has been discovered that some were buried upside down and handcuffed. The remains are in the process of study”.

Hemos recuperado huesos de seis personas en Gáldar.

Restos humanos encontrados en un yacimiento arqueológico. Podía ser un aprovechamiento funerario, pero se ha descubierto que algunas fueron enterradas boca abajo y maniatadas.

Los restos están en proceso de estudio. pic.twitter.com/y3qVKzjqem

— Cabildo Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCab) April 20, 2023

According to La Provincia, natural erosion exposed an ancient pre-Hispanic habitation cave which had been buried by a massive landslide. The rains subsequently exposed two bodies and gave rise to archaeological work.

Historical Heritage of the Canary Islands detailed that some bodies were placed on top of each other and that they were covered by large stones probably as a result landslide. This possibly explained the fractured bones on some of them they added.

Samples of some of the bones have been selected by the researchers for Carbon 14 dating to try to determine their original date of burial. The results should be known in a few months.