The Ötztal Valley in the Alps attracts many hikers year after year, so it wasn’t surprising that Germans Erika and Helmut Simon were hiking on September 19, 1991. However, this hike would not be like any other; they stumbled upon what they initially thought was the body of a deceased mountaineer. However, it turned out to be an unusually well-preserved mummy, later named Ötzi, which had been buried in ice for over 5,000 years.

The Discovery of Ötzi

Originally from Nuremberg, the couple was practicing their favorite hobby, mountaineering, in the depression of the Ötztal Alps, between the Fineilspitze and Similaun mountains, which connect the valleys of Schnals and Oetz, known as Tisenjoch.

During their journey, they made a macabre discovery: a body half-buried in the ice. They immediately called the local authorities, who approached the scene. This was not unusual, as each year remains of mountaineers or soldiers from one of the two World Wars, especially from the First World War, were often found.

Initially, the authorities treated the case as that of a mountaineer, but they quickly realized it was a case of murder, which soon became a highly publicized case, appearing on the front pages of newspapers worldwide. The body belonged to an individual who had died from wounds sustained… over 5,300 years ago.

The mummy was named Ötzi, after the place where it was found. He died around 3255 BC, and is the best-preserved mummy of an individual who lived during the Late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period. When the police and workers arrived the following day, the extraction process was handled poorly. They used a hydraulic hammer to break the ice, which ended up piercing the left hip of the body and tearing its clothes.

Poor Handling of the Situation

The news spread, and as often happens with such sensational stories, the site became crowded with curious onlookers eager not to miss the spectacle, many offering themselves as “volunteers.” None of them showed the necessary care when handling the mummy’s belongings and backpack, which ultimately became torn. Some items around the body also disappeared. The handling was so negligent that Ötzi’s bow was broken to fit it into a bag.

At the Innsbruck Institute of Forensic Medicine, where the mummy was taken, a very nervous Konrad Spindler, director of the Institute of Prehistory, was awaiting the arrival of the body. He had been alerted by another mountaineer about the suspicious mishandling of everything related to Ötzi.

When the examination of the objects was carried out while the necessary permits to examine the body were processed, the first thing that caught attention was his axe. It was crude, wedge-shaped, and had a casting technique and design over 4,000 years old. Subsequent analysis confirmed its dating, and when the information became public, it caused a stir worldwide.

A Premeditated Murder in Prehistory

The forensic analysis of the corpse raised further questions. It was confirmed that the man was about 46 years old, 1.59 meters tall, and weighed approximately 50 kilograms. His teeth were very worn but without cavities. His stomach contained remnants of a large meal, including ibex meat, which had only just begun to be digested when he died. His body had sixty tattoos, believed to have a healing function.

His right side showed a bruise, and he had four broken ribs that had not started to heal. Subsequent CT scans of the mummy revealed an arrowhead lodged in his left scapula, which could have severed an artery. A large edema was found in the back of his brain, indicating trauma.

If you wish to see uncensored images of Ötzi, you can do so at the following links: Image 1, Image 2.

There is no doubt that Ötzi was caught by surprise, struck by an arrow, beaten, and left to die. But his killers did not strip him of anything, especially not his copper axe, a rare and valuable object. The mystery of the Alpine mummy remains one of the most significant enigmas in archaeology.

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