THE remains of soldiers captured at the Battle of Dunbar will be reburied in Durham once research on the bones is completed.

The soldiers were found in a mass grave during construction work on Durham University’s Palace Green Library café in November 2013. 

None of the skeletons exhumed are complete as, in keeping with archaeological best practice, only those remains directly affected by the construction work were exhumed.

Analysis led by Durham University showed that these were the remains of Scottish soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar, answering an almost 400-year-old mystery as to where those soldiers who died had been buried.

Now, it is intended that the soldiers will be laid to rest at the Elvet Hill Road Cemetery in Durham, close to where the remains were originally found.

They will also be permanently commemorated with a plaque, which will made from stone cut in Dunbar, near to the site where they were discovered.

The decision follows extensive consultation with a range of interested parties about what should happen next to the remains in terms of further research, reburial and commemoration. 

It is intended that they will continue to be involved in this next phase of the project.

Durham University will apply to the Ministry of Justice for an extension to the timescales of the exhumation licence, to allow for further research to be completed before reburial. 

Research will most likely be completed some time late next year, with a small sample of teeth retained by the university to allow for further research as new techniques and opportunities become available.

In making the decision on where the remains should be reburied, Durham University had to consider its ethical, moral and legal responsibilities. 

The final decisions have been approved by both the university’s Executive Committee and the University Ethics Advisory Committee.

Options considered by the university included whether to rebury the remains in Durham or at an alternative site in Scotland, as suggested by some parties during the consultation.

Professor David Cowling, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Arts and Humanities at Durham University, said: “The decision on where to rebury the soldiers was very complex.

“We were acutely aware of the strength and depth of interest amongst many about the fate of these soldiers, whilst at the same time recognising our ethical, moral and legal obligations.

“All options were explored fully by the University and in the end it was felt that the case for reburying the remains in Durham and also commemorating them here with a plaque was strongest.”

A plaque in Durham Cathedral dedicated to the soldiers, which was installed in November 2011, will also be updated so wording can reflect the fact that the final resting place of the soldiers is now known.

Durham University and Durham Cathedral intend to hold a commemorative event later this year to remember the soldiers and unveil both the new and the updated plaques.

Following the Battle of Dunbar, one of the most brutal and short battles of the 17th Century civil wars, thousands of soldiers were marched over 100 miles from the south-east of Scotland to Durham.

About 3,000 soldiers were imprisoned in Durham Cathedral and Castle, at a time when the Cathedral was empty and abandoned.

Those that survived imprisonment in Durham were transported to different parts of the world including Virginia and New England, USA, where they worked as indentured servants.