• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
‘Otzi the iceman’ had ‘horrible tasting’ meal before he was murdered 5,300 years ago

Home> True Crime

Published 17:27 16 Mar 2023 GMT

‘Otzi the iceman’ had ‘horrible tasting’ meal before he was murdered 5,300 years ago

Otzi the iceman's last supper was a pretty gruesome one.

Ali Condon

Ali Condon

It has been revealed that the 5,300 year-old-corpse known as Ötzi the iceman had a horrible last meal before he was brutally murdered.

Ötzi the iceman, who is considered Europe's most famous mummy, was discovered just 32 years ago lying face-down in the Ötztal Alps.

Although his corpse had been there for thousands of years, it had been naturally preserved by the freezing temperatures.

Because Ötzi's body was so well preserved, researchers were able to uncover an impressive level of detail about the iceman - including what his final feast was, thanks to the food still sitting in his intestines.

Advert

Ötzi was so well preserved that scientists could see what was in his intestines.
M.Samadelli/urac.Southtyrolarchaeologymuseum

First things first though, how did he die exactly?

Well, an in-depth analysis found that the beloved mummy had, in fact, been murdered.

A gash between his thumb and first finger led scientists to believe that Ötzi the iceman had been trying to grab a blade out of an attacker's hand a few days before he died.

That gash was still on the mend when he was attacked again with an arrow to the left shoulder, which unfortunately hit an artery.

Advert

Experts believe that the wound would have caused Ötzi to die within minutes.

Before that nasty death though, it's been unveiled that Ötzi the iceman tucked into a pretty rank meal that, unbeknownst to him, would be his last.

After finally locating Ötzi's intestines in a CT scan, researchers were able to analyse the food that had been preserved inside.

Here's what experts believe Ötzi the Iceman would have looked like.
Kennis © South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Foto Ochsenreiter)
According to Frank Maixner from the Eurac Research Institute for Mummy Studies, Ötzi the iceman's final meal mostly consisted of a wild goat species called Alpine ibex - sounds delicious, doesn't it?

Maybe not, but the high fat content was actually just what he needed.

Advert

"He clearly knew that fat is a high-energy source and he really composed his diet to survive at high altitude," Maixner said, as reported by the Guardian.

Although experts believe that Ötzi's high-fat meal would have given him great sustenance for a days-long hunting trip up in the alps, it would have tasted horrific.

Pexels

To get a better idea of Ötzi's final meal, Maixner actually tried ibex - and that's called dedication.

His review is as follows: "The taste is really, well, it’s horrible. And they had no salt at the time."

Advert

Yeah, it sounds like poor old Ötzi had a rough go of it when he was alive all those thousands of years ago.

But, if it's any compensation, being known as Europe's most famous mummy is a pretty fantastic legacy.

Featured Image Credit: M.Samadelli / urac.Southtyrolarchaeologymuseum / Kennis © South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology / Foto Ochsenreiter)

Topics: Weird, Science, Food And Drink

Ali Condon
Ali Condon

Ali is a journalist for LADbible Group, writing on all things film, music, and entertainment across Tyla, LADbible and UNILAD. You can contact Ali at [email protected].

X

@alicondon

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 days ago
2 months ago
  • 2 days ago

    Director of shocking horror banned across world was murdered in unsolved crime just weeks before film's release

    The 17-year-old boy initially sentenced for the death of horror director Pier Paolo Pasolini retracted their confession in 2005

    News
  • 2 months ago

    Family respond to killer's comments in Netflix doc about twisted true story of man found dead after marrying children’s nanny

    The haunting Netflix documentary dropped earlier this week

    News
  • 2 months ago

    Daughter of a cannibalistic murderer opens up about what childhood was really like with the notorious killer

    Her father is Isakin Drabbad, who in 2010 murdered his girlfriend and ate part of her body

    News
  • 2 months ago

    How man who shot his son's karate instructor dead on live TV ended up walking free

    The late Gary Plauché, 68, did not serve any time behind bars despite the killing being caught on camera

    News
  • Five Guys customer shares receipt from 14 years ago and people are ‘outraged’ at the difference
  • Longest living family in the world have eaten one meal everyday that helped them reach 861
  • Restaurant sues customer after he left £2,300 tip on a £10 meal
  • Jeremy Clarkson's 'banned Hawkstone advert' was rejected for exact same rule four years ago