excavation has begun on a septic tank at a site in Ireland

that authorities believe contains the remains of nearly 800 dead

babies and children

who died at a home for unwed mothers run by Catholic nuns

many of the infant remains

are feared to have been dumped in the cesspool

known as the pit

at the former institution in the small town of Tuam County Galway

local historian Catherine Corless told Sky News in total

798 children died at the home between 1925 and its closure in 1961

of which just two were buried in a nearby cemetery

Corless’s research found the other 796 children’s remains

are believed to be under the site of the Bonne Secours

mother and baby home which was demolished in 1971

and is now surrounded by a modern apartment complex

Bon Secours known locally as the home

was a maternity home for unmarried mothers and their children

run by a religious order of Catholic nuns

unmarried pregnant women would be sent to the home to give birth

and would be interned for a year to do unpaid work

they were separated from their Newborn children

who would be raised by the nuns until they were adopted

often without the consent of their families

the full scale of the tragedy at Bon Secours

was only uncovered in 2,014

thanks to Corliss’s findings

it is expected

to take up to two years to identify the remains of the infants

and give them a dignified reburial

and offer some degree of closure to survivors

I don’t care if it’s a thimbleful

as they tell me there wouldn’t be much remains left

at 6 months old it’s mainly cartilage more than bone

Annette McKay whose sister is believed to be one of the 798 victims

told Sky News her mother Margaret Maggie O’connor

gave birth to a baby

Mary Margaret at the home after she was raped at the age of seventeen

the girl died six months later

and her mother only found out when a nun told her

she was pegging washing out and a nun came up behind her and said

the child of your sin is dead

said Annette who now lives in the UK

the last of the Magdalen laundries

only closed their doors in the 1990s

Ireland’s government issued a formal state apology in 2,014

and in 2,022 a compensation scheme was set up

which has so far

paid out the equivalent of $32.7 million to 814 survivors