In 1998 the people of Bolzano welcomed Italy’s newest and oldest citizen. Under close armed escort the Iceman or L’Uomo venuto dal ghiaccio crossed the Italian border after almost eight years of legal battles with the Austrian authorities. His final home was to be a specially built facility in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology which would reveal the story of his life - and death. It was the end of a journey which had started one spring day 5300 years before in what are now known as the Tyrolean Alps. It was the start of much more.
Trekking in the Ötz valley on September 19th 1991, a German couple stumbled across what they thought was an unfortunate mountaineer. It wasn’t until forensic investigations were carried out that it was realized the oldest European mummified body had just been discovered. Since the 4th millennium BC this Copper Age man, nicknamed Ötzi after where he was found, had been frozen and preserved in the Similaun glacier.
Further searches of the area revealed an amazing time-travelled snap shot of life in Ötzi’s time. Not only was he extremely well preserved but so were his possessions. He had with him a bearskin cap and a hide coat covered with a cloak made from local grasses. His leggings were formed from strips of leather and fastened with a belt while his shoes were waterproof and insulated with straw.
He was equipped to travel and survive. He had a copper-bladed axe and flint dagger. In an ingeniously constructed backpack was a net for hunting and in a special birch-bark container the embers from his last fire. Around the time of his death he was making a 1.8 metre yew long bow and arrows. The analysis of Ötzi and the artefacts has thrown light onto early humankind, but there is a dark side to this story.
Until a year ago it was supposed that Ötzi had been a shepherd who was caught out by the notorious Alpine weather, dying from exposure. There was some speculation of a fight or fall that had resulted in some broken ribs. Then, in July 2001, an MRI scan of the 5ft 4 body focused in on the awkwardly angled left shoulder. There, was a flint arrow. Ötzi had been killed. Someone had shot him from behind and below, breaking his shoulder blade and causing a fatal wound. He died maybe hours later; a covering of snow hid his body before he sank into his glacial time capsule. Now, all attention is focused on finding a culprit and a motive.
The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano has a fascinating exhibition of the mysteries of L’Uomo venuto dal ghiaccio including the man himself, peering at a steady stream of visitors through the window of his new home. The museum provides fascinating reproductions of Ötzi and his possessions, satisfying the historical importance of the find in an entertaining and accessible way. However, probably the most powerful, and profoundly humbling, experience a visitor to the museum is left with, comes from the glimpse through time into the unique story of a man and possibly the oldest of whodunits.
The Discovery site has an excellent feature on the mystery of the Iceman.
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/iceman/interactive/iceman_flash.html
The official South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology website in English and Italian
http://www.archaeologiemuseum.it/index_ice.html
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