old Koptyaki Road, under what appeared to be double bonfire sites about 70 meters (230 ft) from the mass grave in Pigs Meadow near Ekaterinburg. The archaeologists stated that the bones were from a boy who approximately between the ages of 10 and 13 years at the time of his death and of a young woman who was between the ages of 18 and 23 years old. At the time, Anastasia was 17 years old while Maria was 19 years. Their brother Alexei would have been 14 within two weeks of his murder. Alexei's elder sisters Olga and Tatiana were 22 and 21 years old at the time of the murder respectively. The bones were found using metal detectors and metal rods as probes. Also, striped material was found that appeared to have been from a blue-and-white striped cloth; Alexei commonly wore a blue-and-white striped undershirt. In mid-2007, a Russian archaeologist announced a discovery by one of his workers. The excavation uncovered the following items in the two pits which formed a "T": remains of 44 human bone fragments; bullet jackets from short barrel guns/pistols; wooden boxes which had deteriorated into fragments; pieces of ceramic which appear to be amphoras which were used as containers for acid; iron nails; iron angles; seven fragments of teeth; fragment of fabric of a garment. Geneticists used a combination of autosomal STR and mtDNA sequencing to detect relationships between the family members' remains. Using a DNA sample from Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, a distant cousin of Alexandra, scientists matched his DNA to her and her children’s remains found in the mass grave. The investigation concluded that Alexei and one Romanov daughter were missing. Experts continue to debate which daughter was missing from the grave as United States experts believe the missing child is Anastasia while Russian experts believe it to be Maria. Many believe that the two children that were not discovered in the grave managed to escape Russia before persecution. As for Nicholas II, scientists used mtDNA heteroplasmy using samples from Princes Xenia Cheremeteff Sfiri and the Duke of Fife. In the early 1990’s, considerable controversy surrounded the accuracy of mtDNA heteroplasmy for DNA testing particularly for distant relatives. In an attempt to refine the results of the investigation, Russian authorities exhumed the remains of Nicholas II’s brother, George Alexandrovich. George’s remains matched the heteroplasmy of the remains found in the grave