The grave of a 19th century Russian soldier, Lt. Col. Karl Karlovich, was transferred to a Turkish museum in the northeastern city of Ardahan.

The grave of a 19th-century Russian soldier of Polish descent has been moved to a museum over a year after it was found in northeastern Turkey, an official said on Thursday.

Efsal Alantar, Ardahan provincial director of culture and tourism, told Anadolu Agency that a team of experts had carried out the transfer process.

In April 2017, a skeleton belonging to 19th century Lt. Col. Karl Karlovich was found by locals doing construction work in Turkey’s northeastern province of Ardahan.

The body, which was in a coffin decorated with the Russian Orthodox cross, was found in the Karagol neighbourhood of Ardahan – which fell to Russian troops in May 1877 – and then taken to the local museum.

Alantar said that moving the grave was the decision of the Kars Regional Council for Conservation of Cultural Heritage.

“The place of the grave – that is, the brick stones that make up the grave – was moved,” he added.

He said the owner of the field where the grave was found can now proceed with his work.

Karlovich died in 1894 due to illness. During the early stages of World War II in 1914, the area reverted back to Turkish rule, which was then known as the Ottoman Empire.