A new theory revealed by archaeologists on Thursday: Oetzi, the 5,300-year-old "Iceman", may not have died at the site in the Italian Alps where he was found 19 years ago, but was only ceremonially buried there.
Up till now, archaeologists thought Oetzi, whose mummified corpse was exposed in a high mountain pass in the Oetztal Alps in 1991, died at that spot from wounds he had continued in a fight.
But an archaeologist Alessandro Vanzetti from Rome University told the Austrian daily Die Presse he believes the Bronze Age warrior actually died much nearer sea-level, but was then buried months later with full ceremonial honours high up in the mountains.
Alessandro Vanzetti and his archaeology excavation team have been investigating the site at 3,210 metre above sea-level for the past five years.
Vanzetti told the newspaper: The new theory would explain why some of the weapons discovered next to the mummy were not ready for use and why so many objects were found next to the corpse.
The archaeology also stated that some of the objects were valuable and would surely have been looted by his murderer if Oetzi had died in a fight at the spot where he was found.
Moreover, an analysis of his stomach had shown that the man died in April, while pollen found at the spot indicated the body was buried in August or September. The ice would have melted, making a rise to such a height possible.
This famous mummy will remain the subject of intense theory and become a new research for decades to come.
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