Archaeologists were jubilant last week after tourists in Austria found
the corpse and belongings of a dead Alpine traveller preserved in the ice
since the Bronze Age around 4000 years ago. Stuart Needham, a Bronze Age
specialist at the British Museum in London, describes the find as 鈥榮tupendous
鈥� nothing compares with it鈥�. Until now, almost all Bronze Age artefacts
and corpses have come from graves. This is the first time that someone in
everyday clothing carrying everyday objects has been found.
Needham says that the tools (shown above around the man鈥檚 hand) provide
clear evidence that the man, aged between 20 and 40 when he perished, is
from the Bronze Age. 鈥楨verything hangs on the artefacts. Bronze axes are
very durable, but they don鈥檛 usually survive with their hafts, as this one
has,鈥� he says. Other items include a pouch containing fire-lighting equipment,
a quiver with bone-tipped arrows and a wooden backpack. Konrad Spindler,
of the Institute of Early History at the University of Innsbruck, is leading
the examination, which should throw light on daily life in the Bronze Age.
