Mystery around death of 1-year-old ‘ice prince' from medieval Germany now solved
After discovering an extraordinary 1,350-year-old grave in Germany in 2021, researchers have now solved the mystery surrounding the death of a child buried there.
Dressed in fine silk, linen and leather, archaeologists knew right away the child must have been a member of a high-status, regionally important family, according to a May 22 news release from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation.
To preserve the contents of the child's grave, discovered about 56 miles west of Munich in Tussenhausen, experts flash-froze the burial chamber. This allowed them to lift it out of the ground as one whole piece — a technique specially developed by the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, according to the release.
Scientists determined the blond, blue-eyed child, who came to be known as the 'Ice Prince of Mattsies' thanks to the preservation technique used on his grave, lived some time between 670 and 680 AD.
It was determined the child died at the age of 1 1/2 from a chronic infection stemming from a middle ear infection, according to the release. This was a common fate for children in the Middle Ages, experts said.
Most children, however, were not buried with such riches.
The Ice Prince of Mattsies was buried on a Roman estate in a building that was adapted to be a burial and memorial site, according to the release. The burial chamber was made entirely of stone and carved by skilled stonemasons, experts said.
Inside, the child was laid to rest on a hide. He was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt made of fine linen and silk, which experts said could only be obtained through contact with the Byzantine Empire and was a status symbol.
He wore silver bracelets on his arms and silver spurs on his shoes. He also wore a sword with a leather scabbard ornately decorated with gold, officials said.
Objects at the foot of his burial chamber indicated the family's high status, including a bronze basin that contained a comb, a wooden bowl, a drinking cup with silver fittings, and the remains of hazelnuts, apples, and a pear, according to the release.
Experts said the burial room had been re-roofed twice, including that it was used as a place of remembrance for many years, per the release.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation.
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