Actually, the problem is that there are two tombs, one in Seville, Spain, and another in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Both tombs are reported to contain the remains of Cristobal Colon, a person known in the English-speaking world as Christopher Columbus.

For more than 100 years historians have debated which site is the correct one. The only sure way to find out, says history teacher Marcial Castro, is dig up both sets of bones, glean some strands of DNA, and compare them to DNA from Hernando Colon, Columbus' son through an extramarital affair. Castro and a co-worker are now mobilizing a group of people to conduct DNA analysis of the bones in each tomb.

Hernando Colon's remains are the only available, authenticated ones of a close relative of Columbus, Castro says. They're buried at the cathedral in Seville, along with the bones that Spain says are his father's. In the Dominican Republic, a huge, cross-shaped monument called the Faro a Colon, or Columbus Lighthouse, also purports to hold the remains of Christopher Columbus.

Details of this new quest are available at The Detroit News’ website at: www.detnews.com/2002/nation/0206/11/a02-511754.htm.

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