Archaeologists are back searching for an unmarked grave in southern Spain where the acclaimed poet Federico Garcia Lorca is believed to have been buried following his execution at the start of the Spanish Civil War.

The Return with Honor association said Monday they will first clear some forest land outside Alfacar village to bring it back to pre-war levels. Archaeologists will then begin soundings for wells where they believe the body of Lorca and others were dumped.

A search in 2009 in another area nearby proved fruitless. The latest dig began in 2014 but was halted because of logistical problems.

Lorca, one of Spain's most renowned 20th-century poets, was among tens of thousands of civilians executed by militias loyal to late dictator Gen. Francisco Franco and buried in unmarked mass graves during and after the 1936-39 Civil War.

The Franco regime carried out a thorough accounting of killings of its supporters and gave them proper burials but those on the other end of the violence have been battling for years to get the same treatment.

"In any civilized country, you cannot leave citizens buried in unidentified places as if they were scum," said Javier Navarro, one of the project's archeologists.

The area being dug up now had been filled in amid plans for a soccer field in 1998. The Lorca family protested, saying they believed the poet might be among those buried there.

Lorca, 38, was shot along with three others on Aug. 18, 1936.

He is best known for tragedies such as "Blood Wedding" and his poetry collections "Poet in New York and "Gypsy Ballads." Lorca's work draws on universal themes like love, death, passion, cruelty and injustice.