The Iceman in his discovery position still embedded in the
ice of the Ötzi
Alps. (South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology)
On September 19, 1991 two hikers left the path on the Ötzal Alps, in the Tisenjoch region. Their new route led them past a rocky gully filled with melting snow. They had noticed something in the gully and upon closer inspection discovered the corpse of Ötzi the Iceman. Once the couple returned to the valley they notified the authorities of what was presumed to be the remains of another hiker that tragedy had befell many years ago and only now had been uncovered as the snow melted. The authorities mounted an expedition to recover the remains but their task was hindered for many days due to weather conditions. Until finally on September 23rd they were finally able to full extract the corpse from the ice, the body along with his personal effects was then taken to a forensic institute where his true age would finally come to light upon examination by an anthropologist.
Once the true nature of this discovery had been revealed a team of archaeologists were put on the case. Therefore they then conducted two surveys of the discovery site (October 3-5, 1991 and July 20-August 25, 1992). By the time of the second excavation the snow had melted somewhat via nature whilst the rest was removed using hot air blowers and steam jets. This led to the recovery of the rest of the artifacts and well as a detailed site plan of the entire gully.