LONDON (AP) — Ireland's government has approved a forensic excavation of a Catholic-run orphanage where a mass grave containing the remains of hundreds of children was discovered.

Children's Minister Katherine Zappone announced Tuesday the excavation and recovery of remains. Where possible, there will be a respectful burial.

The excavation, which will begin after legislation is passed, follows a report from a judge-led commission that confirmed last year that the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, had an underground structure divided into 20 chambers containing "significant quantities of human remains."

The government investigated after historian Catherine Corless tracked down death certificates for nearly 800 children who had died as residents of the facility — but could find a burial record for only one child.