Chandigarh

The skeletons of 282 Indian soldiers who participated in India's First War of Independence in 1857 were found during an excavation near Amritsar, said Dr JS Sehrawat, Assistant Professor, Dept Anthropology, Punjab University.

The soldiers were said to have revolted against the use of pork and beef-greased cartridges.

"These skeletons belong to 282 Indian soldiers killed during India's first freedom struggle against the British in 1857. These were excavated from a well found underneath a religious structure in Ajnala near Amritsar in Punjab," Sehrawat said.

"A study has suggested that these soldiers had revolted against the use of pork and beef tallow greased cartridges. Coins, medals, DNA study, elemental analysis, anthropological, radio-carbon dating, all point towards the same," Sehrawat added.

The 1857 revolt was called the First War of Independence by some historians. Some Indian sepoys recruited in the British Indian army had revolted against the use of cartridges that were greased with pork and beef tallow because it offended their religious beliefs.