Studying Otzi the Iceman, illustration. Otzi the Iceman was Europe's oldest natural mummy at the time of its discovery in 1991. The mummy dates from 3300 BC and was found embedded in a glacier in the Alps (on the Austrian-Italian border). Otzi's body was so well preserved it was found that he had eaten red deer meat, grains, roots and fruit before he died, and had died in spring, as the pollen of a spring plant was found on his clothes. He may have died in battle, as he had several wounds to his body and was carrying weapons, including a copper axe.