ARCHAEOLOGISTS will travel to Scotland later this month to discuss what to do with the remains of 17th Century soldiers found buried in a mass grave.

Jumbled skeletons of Scottish soldiers captured during the Battle of Dunbar were discovered in a burial pit near Durham Cathedral, where they were held prisoner after the battle.

Bones from at least 17 bodies and perhaps as many as 28 were unearthed during construction work near the cathedral in 2013.

After extensive research, experts have now confirmed they belonged to soldiers held after the bloody 1650 between Cromwell’s Parliamentarian army and Scots supporting Charles II.

Now a team from Durham University’s archaeology team and Canon Rosalind Brown from Durham Cathedral are to hold a meeting at the Dunmuir Hotel in Dunbar on November 30, St Andrew’s Day, to outline their findings and ask for views on what should happen to the remains.

The consultation event will seek public views on the possibility of further research, reburial and commemoration.

A petition organised by Scottish historian George Wilson to have the remains repatriated fore reburial north of the Border has so far attracted 670 signatures.

Professor Chris Gerrard, Head of the Department of Archaeology, Durham University, who led the research team, said: “There has been a huge expression of interest in the project.

“We have been engaging with people and organisations from Scotland and throughout the UK and globally, some of whom have a view on what happens to the remains of the Scottish Soldiers.

“From the outset we have expressed our commitment to consulting widely on the next steps.

“Given the strong historical links with Dunbar we thought it fitting to bring our event there to give local people and interest groups a chance to hear from the researchers involved in the project and to give their opinions on further research, reburial, and commemoration.”

The bodies will eventually need to be reburied – a condition of the exhumation licence issued by the Ministry of Justice – but no decision has yet been taken as to where and when they will be reinterred.

Although the exact figures are not known, it is thought that around 1,700 Scottish soldiers died of malnutrition, disease and cold after being marched over 100 miles from Scotland to Durham where they were imprisoned in the Cathedral and Castle.