LOST & FOUND
Archaeology in South Tyrol before 1919
Special Exhibition from 2nd April to 17th November 2019
We have tracked down from all over the world some very special items which were originally discovered before 1919, when today’s South Tyrol was still part of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire. These rediscovered finds from the Neolithic to the early Middle Ages are being shown together, for the first time, in South Tyrol.
The Iceman provides a unique window on the past. Never before has such an ancient and well-preserved frozen Neolithic mummy been found. Since his discovery in 1991, the Iceman has provided new data from prehistoric times for countless research disciplines around the globe, both in the natural sciences and in the humanities.
This has made the Iceman a unique example of how interdisciplinary research achieves positive results.
Experts were and still are researching various details of Ötzi’s life. In 2001, X-rays revealed the cause of death: The Iceman died from an injury caused by an arrow in his left shoulder. The arrowhead hit a main artery, so that he probably bled to death within a matter of minutes. There can be no doubt that Ötzi was murdered.
The paleo artists Adrie and Alfons Kennis from the Netherlands have completed a life-like reconstruction of the Iceman on behalf of the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. Thanks to forensic methods and fine craftsmanship, they were able to capture Ötzi’s facial features and reconstruct his body as realistically as possible.