Jonas Hallgrimsson grave mystery prompts DNA test call

Enthusiasts in Iceland are asking authorities to open the grave of poet and naturalist Jonas Hallgrimsson to check whether the remains buried there are really his.

Hallgrimsson, described as a central figure in Icelandic literature and national romanticism, died in Copenhagen in 1845. His remains were repatriated to Iceland in 1946 and are now buried at Thingvellir.

The request is driven by historic uncertainty over the original Copenhagen burial. Pall Valsson, a biographer of Hallgrimsson, said the grave also contained a grocer, a businessman, his wife and a child, and that remains became mixed over time.

Some supporters want DNA testing. Kari Stefansson, an Icelandic geneticist and reader of Hallgrimsson's work, told AFP that the case was now in the hands of committees and lawyers and could take time.

Icelandic authorities say they cannot approve opening the grave without a court ruling. Jon Karl Helgason, a former University of Iceland lecturer who has studied the case, said he believes the mixed-bones story is a rumour, citing a 1946 photograph of the grave's contents.

The grave is near a small church at Thingvellir, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the original site of the Althing, Iceland's parliament founded in 930.