Scientists in Spain say they have found the tomb of famed Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes in Madrid, BBC reports.

Cervantes, the writer of "Don Quixote," was buried in 1616, but his coffin ended up going missing. Now, scientists are reporting that they have found his bones, along with his wife's and others that were reported as buried with him in Madrid's Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians.

His bones were badly damaged and separating them and identifying them will be difficult, researchers say.

The convent was rebuilt in the late 17th Century and that led to Cervantes' tomb going missing. It took almost 400 years for his tomb to be rediscovered.

"His end was that of a poor man. A war veteran with his battle wounds," Pedro Corral, head of art, sport and tourism at Madrid city council said.

A team of 30 researchers used infrared cameras, 3D scanners and ground-penetrating radar to rediscover where Cervantes was buried. They discovered he was buried in a forgotten crypt beneath the building.

Once archaeologists entered the crypt, they found a number of adult bones that matched those of the individuals buried with Cervantes.

"The remains are in a bad state of conservation and do not allow us to do an individual identification of Miguel de Cervantes," forensic scientist Almudena Garcia Rubio said.

"But we are sure what the historical sources say is the burial of Miguel de Cervantes and the other people buried with him is what we have found."

Further studies of the bones and attempts to separate Cervantes' bones from those buried with him will be done. If scientists can use DNA analysis, they will be able to identify the bones that do not belong to Cervantes.

At a news conference Tuesday, investigator Luis Avial said Cervantes' remains would be reburied in the same convent after a new tomb has been built for him.

"Cervantes asked to be buried there and there he should stay," Avial, georadar expert on the search team, said.

The crypt where Cervantes' remains are held will be opened to the public for the first time in centuries next year to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.

Cervantes' famous "Don Quixote" is said to be one of the most widely read and translated books in the world.