The man who lived 5,300 years ago

Recent research has shown an Iceman now approaching the tender age of 5,300 years. Affectionately nicknamed Oetzi — after the Oetztal Alps in South Tyrol, northern Italy, where he was found in a glacier on September 19, 1991 — the Iceman is believed to have died around the age of 45. He was about 1.60 metres (five foot, three inches) tall, weighed 50 kilogrammes (110 pounds) — about average for his time – and did not have blue eyes as previously believed. If he had lived today, he would have worn size 38 shoes, research shows.

Visitors will get to see Iceman Oetzi under a new light starting Tuesday at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the mummy’s discovery. – Photos by AFP

Handout photo released on February 28, 2011 by the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology shows a technician working on the mummy of an iceman named Oetzi, discovered on 1991 in the Italian Schnal Valley glacier, in the Archeological Museum of Bolzano.