ИСТИНА

General Alexei Yermolov was a legendary Russian General of both the Infantry and Artillery, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars and Caucasus Campaign (Commander of the Georgian Division). Buried in 1861 at his family vault, on the right of the Holy Trinity Church at Orel. His father, and later, his son, were also buried there. Over 2012-2013 studies established the Yermolov vault's condition – how many burials it contains, and identifying the remains. Identification issues arise due to all the burials being male, blood relations, and of similar age at death. Furthermore the vault had been looted - then filled with builder's debris containing mixed rubble, uniform fragments, funerary regalia and human remains. Rumours ran that the General's remains had been burgled. Distance photography of the vault preserved its situation and enabled 3D modelling. Excavation revealed that vault looting took place in 1941-43, again in the late 1970s, with final attempts in the period after 2004. Regimental buttons of different battalions, found on scraps of uniform, enable accurate identification of those buried as General Yermolov, his father, and his son. Three-dimensional anthropological scanning of the skulls, with geometric morphometrics and radio-microscopy, confirmed the presence of three discrete individuals. Morphometrics highlighted their close genetic relation, providing objective evidence of the similarities and differences over three generations of Yermolov-dynasty men. Paleogenetics confirmed the direct line of succession between the three men. MtDNA analysis of the son's remains showed the presence of the H2a1 haplogroup – a typical genetic component of people hailing from Dagestan. The research confirmed the presence of three related male skeletons in the vault, and that the remains of Napoleonic War veteran, General Yermolov, had not been looted.