Riyadh: Forensic experts in Makkah will begin examination of the bones found at the Grand Mosque expansion project site to determine whether they are human or animal remains, media reported.
If they are found to be human, the matter will be forwarded to the General Court and a committee will be formed to study the issue, the Arab News reported Friday.
After the report is filed, Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh will review the matter.
The Grand Mufti is the highest official of religious law in Saudi Arabia.
Abdul Salam bin Sulaiman Mashat, the holy city’s undersecretary for services, said the municipality has not received any information about the discovery of a cemetery inside the Grand Mosque.
Such a rumour has been doing the rounds across social media sites for some time, he added.
Saleh bin Saad Al-Luhaidan, professor of criminal justice and member of the Union of Arab Historians, argued that the remains could be human bodies washed away by floods decades or centuries ago.
He dismissed the idea of organised clusters of graves in the area.