Ötzi the iceman: still fascinating 30 years on

On 9 September, 1991, German couple Erika and Helmut Simon found a frozen human being in the Ötztal Alps, somewhere along the Austrian and Italian borders. Originally thought to have been a modern-day hiker befallen by tragedy, he was later found to be a Stone Age man who had lain in the ice for 5,300 years. Nicknamed Ötzi, he was portrayed by Juergen Vogel in the film, "The Iceman" (picture).

After years of negotiations, Erika Lemke received a reward of €175,000 ($204,899) from the Province of South Tyrol. Her husband had passed on by then, killed in an accident while hiking in the mountains. This triggered talk of "Ötzi's curse" among the superstitious. Still, Ötzi managed to attract around 300,000 visitors every year to the Archaeological Museum in Bolzano pre-COVID.

One wonders if Ötzi might have imagined his afterlife this way. Kept in a refrigerated chamber at 99% humidity at the museum, he is regularly sprayed with sterile water. A precision scale reports if there are any changes. The mummy is thawed only rarely and for as short a time as possible for further examinations. The picture is an impression of what Ötzi may have looked like.

Once the significance of his discovery became clear, a custody battle over Ötzi ensued between Austria and Italy, with each country claiming him for their own. A survey eventually showed that Ötzi was discovered 92.56 meters away from the border — on Italian soil.

Renowned mountaineer Reinhold Messner — who was coincidentally in the area when Ötzi was discovered, and who was involved in the survey — also threw his support behind Italy. Messner also photographed himself with the mummy when it was still half- stuck in the ice. He estimated the mummy to be at least 500 years old, which was somewhat correct, but not quite on the mark.

Ötzi also sported 61 tattoos. Unlike the patterns we know today, his were crosses and lines. His Stone Age tattoo artist had cut his skin and later filled the wounds with hard coal. A procedure that sounds pretty painful. However, what had killed Ötzi was an arrow shot into his shoulder. It was still stuck on his back when he was discovered.

Oscar winner and tattoo fan, Brad Pitt, apparently gets inspiration from everywhere in his search for new motifs. He has sported a silhouette of Ötzi on his left forearm for several years now. However, in the U.S. the mummy is known as 'Frozen Fritz.'

Ötzi's fame saw one German claiming for years to be his reincarnation while an earlier anniversary of Ötzi's discovery saw a Swiss national presented as genetically related to him. Seen here is Austrian pop and Schlager singer, Gerhard Friedle, whose stage name DJ Ötzi was inspired by the mummy.

Research into the contents of his stomach, has also revealed what Ötzi had eaten shortly before his death. His last meal was fatty and rich. Among other things, it consisted of einkorn wheat, an early form of grain, and meat from a billy goat.

Ötzi was beset by many health problems that still plague people today. He had tooth decay, Lyme disease, and flea infestation. He was lactose intolerant and had smoker's lung from spending too much time around the campfire. Ötzi also suffered from Helicobacter pylori (a stomach infection) and cardiovascular problems.

The Stone-Age mummy was a unique find. In order for more people to have access to him, a copy of Ötzi was produced in April 2016. Using a 3D printer, researchers at the Eurac Research Center in Bolzano, Italy created the copy using resin, which was then perfected by US paleo artist Gary Staab (pictured). The copy is now at the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.