Analytical deconstruction = reconstruction

One of my personal favourite parts of our new module (S240) is the chapter about heritage analysis. While many of the analytical techniques were familiar to me, their use in archaeology and art were new and utterly fascinating contexts that I become totally immersed in - I even had a "field trip" to the Mary Rose before she closed for refurbishment!

One of the most important stories in the chapter is that of Ötzi (or Oetzi) the Iceman who was found in the Tyrolean Alps in 1991. The analysis of this guy has been comprehensive, to say the least, and I've done my best to include as much as possible in the chapter. There are no spoilers here, you'll be sad to hear, butI thought it worth mentioning that he was in the news this week.

Since 2011 celebrates 20 years since his discovery, the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano (his home) have commissioned two Dutch guys (Alfons and Adrie Kennis) to produce a new reconstruction of Ötzi based on the results of analytical 3-D imaging (X-ray and CT-scanning). Image analysis has been comprehensive and revealed a LOT about Ötzi's health, lifestyle and death (I said no spoilers!). There's some pictures of the reconstruction process here.

Reconstructing his appearance is no mean feat because, although Ötzi was preserved very well, he did suffer some pressure damage during burial and retrieval. As you will see from the image above, he is not exactly looking his best these days ;-) (Image above c/o South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology via Wikipedia)

Reconstructions have been attempted before (right) but apparently this new one is unique because it gives Ötzi brown eyes. I'm not aware of any published results relating to this (I'm preparedto be wrong), but in 2010 his ancient DNA was sequenced, so perhaps there is some semblance of fact behind this. I know from reading about Ötzi that only fragments of his DNA were available for analysis, however. (Image c/o South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology)

I wish I was able to get to the museum in 2011 to see this, but alas that's unlikely while we're slogging on producing the new module, so I'll be keeping an eye on the web for any images - I assume there is an embargo until it goes on display in March. For more information on visiting Ötzi in Bolanzo, he has his own website! If you are lucky enough to go to the region there is also an art exhibition running alongside, and I particularly like the "ice sculpture" by Marilène Oliver - Iceman Frozen Scanned and Plotted. Clever idea!