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# First Expert Report on Chemmani Mass Grave Raises Epidemic or Disaster as Possible Explanation
- URL: https://www.jaffnamonitor.com/featured/first-expert-report-on-chemmani-mass-grave-raises-epidemic-or-disaster-as-possible-explanation/
- Published: 2026-10-20T12:11:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-20T12:11:43.000Z
- Author: Our Reporter
- Tags: October  2026

**JAFFNA, Sri Lanka —** The first expert report on the excavation at Chemmani, the largest mass grave recorded in Sri Lanka, suggests that some of the 583 people whose remains were recovered there may have died in an epidemic or natural disaster.

The 190-page report, titled “Forensic Archaeological Excavation in Chemmani, Jaffna (2025/2026): A Summary Report on Findings,” was prepared by Professor Raj Somadeva, the lead archaeologist on the excavation, and the archaeologist Anusha Wanninayake. It was submitted to the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court on Monday and covers 110 days of excavation at the site.

The report does not determine how the individuals died, when they were buried or who buried them, and it does not rule out unlawful killing. It presents an epidemic or natural disaster as possibilities requiring further examination and does not establish that either event occurred.

At the same hearing, the court granted the Criminal Investigation Department permission to question Lance Corporal Somaratne Rajapakse, a prisoner on death row in the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy murder case, in connection with the mass grave. The department submitted two reports to the court and sought permission to question Mr. Rajapakse. The court said further action would be decided after a review at an administrative committee meeting on the Chemmani case, scheduled for Nov. 19.

According to the report, the burial site shares characteristics with places where bodies were interred according to established funeral customs. It says the Chemmani site differs in important respects from mass graves documented in other countries, and that its archaeological features bear notable similarities to sites associated with formal burial. The authors wrote that the concentration of skeletal remains could not by itself establish the circumstances of burial, and that the evidence needed to determine those circumstances conclusively had not been identified.

An epidemic or natural disaster could account for the large number of bodies, the report says, because such events can create an urgent need for burial. Bodies buried quickly would have left little opportunity for customary funeral arrangements, which could explain why few objects normally associated with funeral rites were found. The report also says some of the evidence recovered suggests that formal funeral practices may have taken place.

The report addresses the apparent absence of clothing on the excavated skeletons. No textiles were found preserved alongside the remains. The authors wrote that this did not necessarily mean the dead were buried unclothed, because fabric and other organic material can decompose depending on soil chemistry, moisture, microbial activity and how long remains have been buried.

Buttons, buttonhole rings and small metal clothing fittings were recovered with some of the skeletons, the report says, supporting the possibility that at least some of the dead were clothed when they were buried.

Separately, Judicial Medical Officer Sellaiah Piranavan said on Tuesday that an expert panel would be formed around next week to examine the skeletal remains recovered from the Chemmani mass grave.

**Editor’s note:** *Jaffna Monitor is seeking a copy of the full 190-page document, which can be obtained only by filing a motion before the court, a process that may take some time. Once we receive it, we will publish a detailed story examining the report’s findings in full.*