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Yekaterinburg, November 12, Interfax - The DNA examination of the so-called "imperial remains" unearthed in summer near Yekaterinburg will start in January.

The tests will be held almost simultaneously at the Sverdlovsk laboratory, the U.S. Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) and the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics in Moscow, Nikolay Nevolin of the Sverdlovsk Regional Forensic Medicine Laboratory told Interfax-Ural.

"Chief of the Research Section at AFDIL Michael Coble inspected materials collected from the grave and said that he might be able to identify the DNA and conduct identification studies," Nevolin said.

Coble, however, warned that even the Pentagon laboratory could have limitations, Nevolin said.

"All three tests will start almost at the same time and will be conducted independently," Nevolin said.

Fragments of two bodies with signs of a violent death were found during excavations near the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in July. According to preliminary data, the remains belonged to a child between 10 and 14 years of age and to a 20-year old woman.