1. THE ICE MAN DISCOVERY

2. FINDING THE ICEMAN THURSDAY 19 TH September, 1991. Erika and Simon Helmut were holidaying in the Italian Alps. They were on an expedition in the Similaun peak and they had just left the marked track.

3. EYEWITNESS “We suddenly saw something brown sticking out of the ice. Our first thought was that it was rubbish, perhaps a doll because there is now plenty of litter even in the high mountains. As we came closer, Erika said, “But it’s a man!”

4. THE FIND!! The upper part of the corpse was sticking out of the ice There was fur or hair under the chin The skin was like leather and there were black marks that looked like burns Near the body was a bark container with wet grass inside

5. 5m away from the body was a wooden handle with a metal blade attached by leather thonging Small pieces of wood were scattered everywhere Pieces of hair, fur and cord were also spread around the area A long, pointed stick, stuck into the ice, stood upright on a rocky ledge

6. GETTING THE BODY OUT Police and rescuers attempted to pull the body out of the ice They used pneumatic drills to free the ice around him When the official rescue attempt was made, they used everything the could find to dig the Iceman up, including evidence from the local area and ski poles that dug into the corpse Evidence was removed from the scene in a haphazard way without classification or proper storage The long stick was snapped in half because they couldn’t get the whole thing out at once

7. HOW OLD? “I think it is probably the body of an Italian music professor who disappeared in this area in 1938.” Markus Pirpamer “It may be the body of a warrior from the times of Frederick IV…At least 500 years, maybe 3000 years old.” Reinhold Messner On first sight roughly 4000 years old. The Axe belongs to the early Bronxe Age. Perhaps even Neolithic.” Prof K Spindler “I noticed an axe that looked rather old. The body seems to belong to the 19 th century. Almost 100 years old.” Police Officer “Old rather than new.” Forensic Scientist Radiocarbon dating proves it to be 3500 years old.” Oxford University.

8. DATING THE ICEMAN The blade presented a problem because it was thought that metal (whether copper or bronze) was not used in the Neolith (new stone) age Dendrochronology could not be used because all the pieces of wood found were too small Radiocarbon dating was used using tissue and bone from his hips and blades of grass. Several of these tests were done and the iceman was aged at approx 5000 years old.

9. KEEPING THE ICEMAN The Iceman is today kept in a freezer that must remain at a temp of 21 degrees F and a humidity of 98%. These are the same conditions that the iceman was preserved in. He can only come out of the freezer for 20 minutes at a time