500-year-old mystery of human bones found in Spain finally solved as DNA confirms remains belong to Christopher Columbus

SCIENTISTS have finally solved the 500-year-old mystery surrounding Christopher Columbus' final resting place.

Years have been spent performing DNA analysis on human bones found in Spain's Seville Cathedral - and experts have now confirmed with "absolute certainty" they belonged to the explorer.

For the past two decades, experts have been comparing DNA taken from the samples with relatives and descendants - leading to the groundbreaking discovery.

Columbus' body had been moved around numerous times after his death in 1506, with some claiming he had been buried in the Dominican Republic.

These claims sparked a hunt to track down his actual remains.

The forensic scientist who led the breakthrough research, Miguel Lorente, said about the discovery: "Today it has been possible to verify it with new technologies so that the previous partial theory that the remains of Seville belong to Christopher Columbus has been definitively confirmed."

Scientists have believed previously that the tomb inside the cathedral was the place Columbus' body was, but it wasn't until 2003 that Lorente and historian Marcial Castro could actually open it.

But when they did, the previously unknown bones were discovered inside - launching two decades worth of research.

At the time, DNA technology wasn't capable of looking at a small amount of genetic material - and providing accurate results.

The experts therefore looked at the remains of the explorer's son, Hernando, and brother Diego, who were also buried at Seville Cathedral.

Studying the relatives' remains made it easier to identify Columbus, with one reason being that their bones were much larger than the fragments found in Columbus' burial.

Whether the explorer was Italian had always been up for debate among experts, which, with the advancements in DNA, have also been looked at.

Some have also been certain he was born in Genoa, with others claiming Poland or Spain.

Speculations have been ongoing as well that Columbus was Scottish, Catalan or Jewish.

But all is set to be revealed on Saturday in a documentary titled "Columbus DNA: The true origin", on Spain's TVE.

Scientist Lorente didn't reveal the conclusions on Thursday but said that previous theories had been confirmed that the remains in Seville were in fact Columbus'.

He said the "outcome" of the research and data "is almost absolutely reliable".

Who was Christopher Columbus?

Columbus was an Italian explorer who set out to find a direct ocean route from Europe to Asia.

The young navigator convinced Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile to support his journey of discovery, and in 1492 he and his crew set sail with three ships.

He is best known for kicking off the European exploration in the Americas, which led to an increase in the trade of food and other resources around the world.

Although he's remembered as a ground-breaking explorer, critics say his actions led to the transatlantic slave trade and the mass killing and exploitation of indigenous people.