The world’s oldest mummy has been a boon to scientists,the Tyrolean tourist trade and now to filmmakersNo corpse has ever been examined so thoroughly, attracted so many admirers, and spawned such an array of relics and souvenirs. The mummified Neolithic male known as Ötzi,whose shrivelled body was discovered with his tools and clothing in a glacier 26 years ago, is now set to experience a further wave of popularity with the release of a biopic offering a fictional account of his life.
Ötzi’s remains were stumbled across by a German couple, and Erika and Helmut Simon,during a summer hike in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps in southern Tyrol. So well preserved was the partially thawed body, the couple initially thought the corpse, and nicknamed Ötzi after the valley where it was found,to be relatively new. But forensic tests soon established it to be around 5300-years-primitive, making Ötzi the oldest known human mummy. The corpses organs, and even its skin – covered in 60 tattoos were intact,making it a unique find and one of the most prized archaeological discoveries of all time.
Ötzi has long since become a cause célèbre in the scientific world, with thousands of specialists examining everything from the contents of his stomach to how he died.
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Source: guardian.co.uk