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Diari de Catalunya

Hostal d'Aidí Mass Grave in Llavorsí Remains Undiscovered

The third archaeological intervention in Pallars Sobirà has failed to confirm the location of the mass grave, a key site of Francoist repression.

Image of a rural landscape with disturbed ground, suggesting a site of historical memory.
IA

Image of a rural landscape with disturbed ground, suggesting a site of historical memory.

The Directorate General of Democratic Memory has concluded its third archaeological campaign at the Hostal d'Aidí mass grave in Llavorsí, without success in locating the remains, highlighting the complexity of historical research.

The third archaeological intervention at the Hostal d'Aidí mass grave, located in the municipality of Llavorsí, in Pallars Sobirà, has concluded without being able to confirm its location. The work, carried out between April 13 and 24, 2026, was conducted simultaneously with another effort to find the Prat del Rector mass grave, in La Guingueta d'Àneu.
Despite new documentary research, the review of previous hypotheses, and the delimitation of a new excavation area, no human remains associated with the Hostal d'Aidí mass grave have been found. This site is considered one of the most significant spaces of democratic memory in Catalonia, due to the severity of the documented events and its ongoing impact on families and the region.
The archaeological team suggests that the failure to locate the grave could be due to ground alterations or its destruction. According to the report, two main hypotheses explain the negative results: the grave is not exactly in the excavated points, due to significant landscape transformations by natural factors and human interventions (such as the construction of the road in 1986), or the grave has been destroyed or altered by episodes such as forestry work, the floods of 1960 and 1982, or the road construction in 1986.
This case represents a paradigmatic example of Francoist repression in Pallars Sobirà. In April 1938, Francoist troops occupied a large part of Pallars, turning the region into a front line for nine months. In this context, forces from the 62nd Francoist Division carried out intense repression against the civilian population.
Historical documentation indicates that 67 civilians from Pallars Sobirà were executed without prior trial. One of the most serious episodes occurred on May 23 and 24, 1938, when nine people were arrested, tortured, and murdered in the vicinity of Hostal d'Aidí. These victims came from Unarre, Escalarre, and València d'Àneu.
The search to locate the grave has been active for the last decade, with a first intervention in 2016 and a second in 2023, both unsuccessful. The third campaign, with new information provided by relatives, has also failed to confirm the location. The Directorate General of Democratic Memory maintains continuous documentation work and outreach to families, having organized an informative event in Llavorsí in January 2024.

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