The government-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) said at least 40 corpses had so far been recovered from the site, with some beheaded and others showing signs of “brutal” torture.
The report linked the discovery to a massacre documented in May 2015, when Isis militants were reported to have slaughtered more than 400 mostly women and children in Palmyra just two days after capturing the city.
State employees, their families and those believed to be loyal to the regime were said to be among those targeted.
Isis committed numerous atrocities during its reign over Palmyra, when its world-famous ancient ruins became a favoured backdrop for gruesome propaganda videos showing the execution of prisoners.
During their nearly 10-month occupation of Palmyra, the jihadists executed at least 280 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor which confirmed the discovery of the mass grave.
Soon after IS stormed Palmyra, it shot dead 25 soldiers in the ancient Roman theatre.
It later released a video of the mass killing in which the executioners appeared to be children or teenagers.
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