Remains of explorer Matthew Flinders found in UK

The remains of a noted Royal Navy explorer who led the first known circumnavigation of Australia have been found by archaeologists excavating a burial ground where a railway station is planned.

The remains of Captain Flinders, a noted Royal Navy explorer, who led the first circumnavigation of Australia have been
found by archaeologists excavating a burial ground containing about 40,000 graves where a railway station
 is planned [Credit: ABC News/Tim Stevens]

The archaeologists identified the remains of Captain Matthew Flinders by the lead plate placed on top of his coffin. He was buried at St. James's burial ground in 1814 but the headstone was removed in the 1840s, leaving the precise location of his grave a mystery.

Flinders made a number of important journeys and was commander of HMS Investigator when he navigated the entire coast of Australia, confirming it was a continent.

Archaeologists removing the lead plate placed on top of the coffin of Captain Matthew Flinders at the archaeological
excavation and research works at St James's Gardens in Euston, London [Credit: HS2 Limited]

A number of places in Australia have been named after him, including Flinders Station in Melbourne and the town of Flinders in Victoria. A statue honoring him was unveiled in London by Prince William on the bicentenary of his death in 2014.

Officials believe other notables are in the burial ground, including Bill Richmond, a slave born in New York who as a free Londoner gained prominence as a boxer, and James Christie, a naval officer who in 1766 founded the auction house that bears his name.

The discovery of Flinders's lead breastplate helped confirm the discovery 
[Credit: HS2 Limited]

Experts plan to remove tens of thousands of skeletons from the burial ground, where a rail station for a new high-speed rail line will be built.

HS2, which is building the rail line from London to Birmingham, said the remains of Flinders and roughly 40,000 others will be re-buried at a location to be announced.