The opening of a grave and the exhumation of bones believed to belong to the national poet of Cyprus, Vasilis Michaelides, has been underway since Saturday morning (20/01) at the cemetery of Agios Nikolaos in Limassol. The exhumation will be carried out by anthropologists in the presence of the Director of the Laboratory of Dikanic Genetics at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Dr. Marios Kariolou, relatives of Vasilis Michaelides, George Petousis, President of the Limassol Society of Writers and officials of the Limassol Municipality.
The exhumation follows a decree issued in December 2023 by the Limassol District Court and after procedures initiated through a lawyer by the Limassol Municipality. It should be noted that the exhumation in this grave is taking place after testimonies were secured that the poet was buried there. According to the decree issued by the Court, only the first bones identified will be exhumed and samples will be taken to establish that they belong to a man of 60-70 years of age. Among the terms of the order is that if two human skeletons are found, the process will be stopped and the grave will be closed.Speaking to philenews, George Petousis, President of the Limassol Writers’ Society, said that Vasilis Michaelides died in December 1917 and in the following decade his grave disappeared. As he explained, his funeral was held at the expense of the Limassol Municipality, however, for unknown reasons, no plaque was placed and as a result, the grave was lost.