脰TZI didn鈥檛 die of cold or after a fall鈥攈e was shot in the back with an
arrow, Italian researchers think. But only an autopsy will show if they鈥檙e
right.
The iceman鈥檚 frozen body was found high in the Alps a decade ago. The latest
X-rays and CT scans show what looks like a flint arrowhead in the left shoulder
of the 5300-year-old corpse, says Paul Gostner, head of radiology at Bolzano
General Hospital. The arrow stopped just short of the lung but would have hit
several major blood vessels, says Gostner. 鈥淗e probably bled to death.鈥�
Earlier X-rays revealed the same mark, says Peter Vanezis, a forensic
pathologist at the University of Glasgow, part of a team investigating 脰tzi.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always been aware of it,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it didn鈥檛 look like a missile. It
seemed to have the same density as bone.鈥�
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If the object is an arrowhead, it will be an embarrassing find for the
specialists who have subjected 脰tzi鈥檚 shrivelled body to all sorts of tests
since he was pulled from a glacier near Bolzano in South Tyrol. 鈥淓veryone is
very surprised that such an artefact could remain hidden for 10 years,鈥� says
Konrad Spindler of the University of Innsbruck in Austria, who led the initial
studies.
But he says the position of the 鈥渁rrowhead鈥� makes it hard to spot. 鈥淭he
arrowhead is hidden between the shoulder bone and the ribs, and there is a very
small window through which to see it from outside,鈥� says Spindler.
His team did find several cuts and other damage to the skin on 脰tzi鈥檚 back.
鈥淏ut until this new discovery no one was looking for an arrow wound,鈥� says
Spindler.
Gostner and his colleague, pathologist Eduard Egarter Vigl, say one of these
cuts fits the apparent trajectory of the arrow. They looked for an entry wound
after Gostner spotted the triangular mark in a chest X-ray taken last month.
Gostner then re-examined CT scans of 脰tzi he had made in April and looked for
something to match the mark on the X-ray. 鈥淲e found it. The image shows the
exact shape of an arrowhead and it has the consistency of stone.鈥�
Vanezis, however, points out that the X-ray shows a triangular point, whereas
脰tzi鈥檚 own arrowheads were oval. Yet you鈥檇 expect people living in the same area
to use similar weapons. 鈥淭he only way to solve it 100 per cent is to do a
limited autopsy to see if we can find the arrowhead,鈥� says Vanezis. 鈥淭hen
everyone will be happy.鈥�
Ever since 脰tzi was discovered, experts have argued about who he was and what
happened to him. Some think he was a shepherd, others a hunter. He was in his
forties and showed signs of arthritis and hardened arteries, but had warm
clothes and was well equipped for travelling in the Alps.
Until now, it was thought that he had become lost in a snowstorm or was
injured, and succumbed to the cold. But if he was killed, then who did it? 鈥淚t鈥檚
impossible to know,鈥� says Gostner. 鈥淎ll we can say is that it wasn鈥檛 suicide.鈥�