Death in the Ice: Re-investigations of the Remains from the Theodul Glacier (Switzerland)

Abstract

Scattered human and animal bones, weapons, knives, jewellery, coins, leather fragments and fabrics were found at the Upper Theodul glacier (Switzerland) between 1984 and the early 1990s. The finds are assumed to represent a single fatal event. Until recently, the remains were interpreted as those of a mercenary. All objects and fabrics were restored and investigated by experts on behalf of the Valais History Museum using macroscopic, microscopic and typological methods. The animal bones were sorted, identified and attributed to species. The human remains, the main focus of this article, were investigated using standard osteological methods, computed tomography, and stable isotope analysis. The bones belong to an adult male individual who was wearing woollen and silk clothes and leather shoes. He was equipped with a rapier, a dagger and a wheel-lock pistol that were probably manufactured in Germany. Due to their type, it is unlikely that the weapons were used as military arms. The coins were mainly minted in Northern Italy and date the fatal event on the Theodul glacier to around 1600 AD. The associated finds, in particular the weapons, contest the former interpretation as a mercenary and suggest an identification as a traveller or tradesman.

Full text

Death in the Ice:
Re-investigations of the Remains from
the Theodul Glacier (Switzerland)
Amelie Alterauge,1, 2 Sophie Providoli,3
Negahnaz Moghaddam,1 and Sandra Lösch1
1. University of Bern, 2. University of Heidelberg,
3. Valais History Museum, Sion
amelie.alterauge@irm.unibe.ch; sophie.providoli@admin.vs.ch;
negahnaz.moghaddam@irm.unibe.ch; sandra.loesch@irm.unibe.ch
35
JGA 2.1 (2015) 35–50 Journal of Glacial Archaeology ISSN (print) 2050-3393
doi: 10.1558/jga.v2i1.27232 Journal of Glacial Archaeology ISSN (print) 2050-3407
Keywords: glacier corpses, Theodul glacier, historical archaeology
Scattered human and animal bones, weapons, knives, jewellery, coins, leather frag-
ments and fabrics were found at the Upper Theodul glacier (Switzerland) between
1984 and the early 1990s. The nds are assumed to represent a single fatal event. Until
recently, the remains were interpreted as those of a mercenary. All objects and fab-
rics were restored and investigated by experts on behalf of the Valais History Museum
using macroscopic, microscopic and typological methods. The animal bones were
sorted, identied and attributed to species. The human remains, the main focus of this
article, were investigated using standard osteological methods, computed tomography,
and stable isotope analysis. The bones belong to an adult male individual who was wear-
ing woollen and silk clothes and leather shoes. He was equipped with a rapier, a dag-
ger and a wheel-lock pistol that were probably manufactured in Germany. Due to their
type, it is unlikely that the weapons were used as military arms. The coins were mainly
minted in Northern Italy and date the fatal event on the Theodul glacier to around 1600
AD. The associated nds, in particular the weapons, contest the former interpretation
as a mercenary and suggest an identication as a traveller or tradesman.
Introduction
Arising from discoveries of archaeological nds in the glacier zones around the
world, the discipline of glacial archaeology has developed siginicantly over the last
few years. Its area of research is restricted to the sub-polar zones and mountainous
regions that are largely affected by global warming and the retreat of glaciers (Reckin
2013, Dixon et al. 2014). Ice-patch and high altitude eldwork is needed therefore to

Amelie Alterauge, Sophie Providoli, Negahnaz Moghaddam, and Sandra Lösch
36
document the nd distribution and to collect the objects exposed by the ice before
they are destroyed by decomposition (Rogers, Fischer, and Huss 2014).
The emergence of a corpse embedded in glacier ice is a very rare event and it is con-
trolled by the glaciological conditions at the site. Most corpses recovered from glaciers
in the Alps are those of recently deceased mountaineers or hunters who died from a
fall down a crevasse or perished from cold (Ambach et al. 1992a, 1992b; Krämer, Lehner,
and Zink 1988; Ambach, Tributsch and Henn 1991; Stadler 2005). Other remains found
in the Alps include animal mummies (Döppes et al. 2014) and corpses of World War I
soldiers (Gaudio et al. 2014; Gaudio et al. 2013; Piccinini et al. 2010).
Some remains date to historic and prehistoric times, though. The most famous
corpse is that of the Tyrolean Iceman “Ötzi,” a natural mummy from c. 3300 BC that
has been intensively investigated in order to reconstruct his appearance, ancestry,
living conditions and last hours before death (Keller et al. 2012; Murphy et al. 2003;
Spindler 2000; Fleckinger 2011). Frozen human mummies have also been found in
northern Canada (Notman et al. 1987; Amy et al. 1986), in Greenland (Lynnerup 2015)
and in the Andes (Ceruti 2004, 2014). While the preservation of bodies from Arctic
regions is linked to their burial in ice, the Andean mummies are preserved due to a
combination of low temperatures, aridity and hypoxic conditions at high altitudes.
The same conditions are responsible for the preservation of some partially mummi-
ed individuals in the Himalayas (Singh Farswan and Singh 2015; Alt et al. 2003). In
Europe, however, although corpses may be preserved by ice, preservation is often
impaired by glacier movements.
In Switzerland, two corpses from historic times have been identied: One from east-
ern Switzerland at the Porchabella glacier in the Grisons, and one from western Swit-
zerland at the Theodul glacier near Zermatt. The former is from a young woman who
died around 1690 AD on the Piz Kesch Mountain. Her clothes and equipment suggest
that she was a shepherdess or dairymaid from Austria or Southern Germany (Rageth
1995). Only the upper parts of the trunk and the left arm are mummied whereas the
rest of the body is skeletonized and almost completely preserved (Kaufmann 1996,
Rageth 2007).
The second corpse was found with equipment and garments on the Theodul glacier
in the Pennine Alps south of Zermatt. The Pennine Alps are anked by the Rhône valley
to the north, and the Aosta valley to the south. They are situated between the Canton
of Valais (Switzerland) and the provinces of Aosta and Piedmont (Italy). The passage
over the Theodulpass, 2.5 km away from the discovery site, was probably used since
the Mesolithic, but certainly since Roman times (Providoli 2015). The pass connects the
Matter Valley in Switzerland with the Valtournenche Valley in Northern Italy.
Since the initial nds date back to 1984, some studies have already been per-
formed on the material (Lehner and Julen-Lehner 1990, Julen-Lehner and Lehner
2012). Between 2010 and 2015 the Valais History Museum, proprietor of the remains,
directed an extended research and publication project. Specialists from different
elds studied the Theodul nd. The present article focuses on the anthropological
research. The extended and updated version of the other studies can be consulted in
Providoli, Curdy and Elsig 2015.

Death in the Ice
37
Research history
The discovery site is located on the eastern margin of the Upper Theodul glacier at
an altitude of approx. 3000 m above sea level (Figure 1). Site inspections were carried
out by the mountaineering siblings Peter Lehner and Annemarie Julen-Lehner from
1984 till 2010. Between 1984 and the early 1990s scattered nds that include human
and animal bones, textile and leather fragments, different kinds of weapons, a silver
pendant, several knives and coins surfaced in an area of 70 x 30 m in the ow path
of the ice (Figure 2). It was assumed that the nds represent a single fatal event that
occurred around 1600 AD. The nds were interpreted as being the personal belong-
ings—and physical remains—of a mercenary (Lehner and Julen-Lehner 1986, Julen-
Lehner and Lehner 2012).
Previous investigations focused mainly on the equipment (Lehner and Julen-Leh-
ner 1986, 1990, Lehner and Julen 1991, Julen-Lehner and Lehner 2012) or on the bio-
chemical preservation of the bones (Krämer, Lehner, and Zink 1988). A report written
on another individual that was mistaken for the one from the Theodul glacier was
misleadingly cited by Meyer (1992) and Hafner (2009).
Material and methods
The archaeological nds from the Theodul glacier comprise weapons, jewellery,
coins, textile and leather fragments, and bones. The weapons include a rapier, a pis-
tol and a dagger, as well as ve small knives, one of them a razor (Figure 3). A silver
pendant was also found. The weapons and the silver pendant were restored and con-
served in the late 1980s at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. Basic information
on design and fabrication was already collected and compiled by Julen-Lehner and
Lehner (2012). The content of the silver pendant was investigated microscopically
and microchemically. A detailed description and re-investigation on the weapons
was performed between 2013 and 2014 (Senn 2015).
A total of 184 coins were collected from the ice. They were re-analysed between
2010 and 2014 for their alloy and mint composition (Diaz Tabernero and Gianazza
2014, Diaz Tabernero 2013, Diaz Tabernero and Gianazza 2015).
The textile fragments were cleaned, conserved and reassembled to textile groups
at the Abegg Foundation in Riggisberg (Switzerland) in 1991. A detailed analysis of
material and sewing patterns was conducted between 2013 and 2014 (Grabner 2015).
The appearance and workmanship, stitching, signs of wear, and direction of hair
growth were recorded for each leather fragment, and the fragments were reassem-
bled based on this catalogue (Volken and Volken 2015).
Human and animal bones were separated and the animal bones were further sorted,
anatomically classied and analysed regarding species and sex and age distribution
(Reynaud Savioz 2015).
Apart from some auburn-coloured hair tufts and soft tissue remains on the skull,
the human remains were completely skeletonized. Due to conservatory reasons,
the bones were consolidated after their discovery, probably in the late 1980s in the
Swiss National Museum in Zurich. The human bones were investigated using stand-

Amelie Alterauge, Sophie Providoli, Negahnaz Moghaddam, and Sandra Lösch
38
ard anthropological methods (Ferembach, Schwidetzky, and Stloukal 1979, Acsádi
and Nemeskéri 1970, Szilvássy 1988). The age at death estimation relied on the cra-
nial sutures and the fusion of the epiphyses. Computed tomography (CT) was used
to detect potential pathological alterations of the bones that are not visible on the
outer bone surface. Additionally, CT was used for the age estimation and assessment
of preservation status. It was performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the
University of Bern by a Somatom Emotion 6 Scanner (Siemens Medical Solution,
Forchheim, Germany). Image reconstruction was undertaken with a slice thickness
of 1.25 mm, and the following appraisal of the CT images was performed on a Leon-
ardo Workstation (Siemens, Forchheim, Germany).
Even though the precise consolidant could not be determined, it was possible to
remove it from the bone samples for stable isotope analysis. They were cleaned rst
with water and later with a solution of acetone and toluol, followed by ultrasonic
cleaning. 500mg bone powder was used for collagen extraction. Further sample prep-
aration followed the protocols of Ambrose (1993) and Longin (1971). The collagen
Figure 1 Discovery site of the remains from the Theodul glacier (in the front) and the
Theodul pass (in the background) (© Valais History Museum, Sion; photo: Sophie
Providoli).

Death in the Ice
39
quality was veried as indicated by Ambrose (1993) and DeNiro (1985).
Stable isotope ratios of carbon (13C/12C), nitrogen (15N/14N) and sulphur (34S/32S)
were analysed by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS at Isolab GmbH, Schweiten-
kirchen, Germany). All data are presented in δ-notation in per mil (‰) according
to international standards for carbon (Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite, VPDB), nitrogen
(Ambient Inhalable Reservoir, AIR) and sulphur (Canyon Diablo Troilit, CDT) (Hoefs
2009, Schoeninger and DeNiro 1984, Fry 2006).
Results
Weapons
All weapons are made of iron; some hilts are made of bone or wood. The rapier con-
sists of a complex compound-hilt and a double-edged blade. The hilt is formed by an
S-shaped uted quillon and a knuckle bow composed of an outer and inner guard of
uted rings and loops. Together with the shell-guard, those features were designed
Figure 2 Schematic plan of the discovery site at the Theodul glacier, the dashed lines repre-
sent the margins of the glacier in 1986 and 1988: 1 rapier, 2 dagger, 3 pistol, 4 skull.
The plan summarizes all years of discovery (graphic rendering after Meyer 1992,
326, g. 4).

Amelie Alterauge, Sophie Providoli, Negahnaz Moghaddam, and Sandra Lösch
40
to protect the hand wielding the sword. The grip ends in a cylindrical, spirally uted
pommel. The rapier has an engraved wolf sign on the blade. Due to its form, it can be
dated to around 1600 AD (Julen-Lehner and Lehner 2012, Senn 2015).
During retrieval, the dagger was stuck in an iron sheath. A small knife was attached
to it through corrosion. The dagger has a double-edged blade with hollow grinding;
on both sides the initials CATOMA are engraved. The hilt is made out of wood and
ends in a spherical pommel. The quillon is curved towards the blade’s point and has
thickened endings that were used for capturing and breaking the opponent’s blade.
The dagger was adapted to left-hand handling and parrying. The dagger dates to
around 1600 AD (Julen-Lehner and Lehner 2012, Senn 2015).
The pistol is a muzzleloader with wheel-lock and pyrite. Its total length is c. 36
cm. The ornaments on the wooden parts are inlaid with shbone. Technically and
typologically, the pistol can be dated towards the end of the sixteenth century (Julen-
Lehner and Lehner 2012, Senn 2015).
Three other knives were retrieved from the ice. One of them exhibits a German-
smith’s mark on the blade. Due to their common form and ornaments, a typo-chron-
ological classication is delicate. However, there is nothing to be said against attrib-
Figure 3 Overview over the nds from the Theodul glacier (© Valais History Museum, Sion;
photo: Michel Martinez).

Death in the Ice
41
uting them to the late sixteenth century. They may have been used for everyday
purposes (Senn 2015, Julen-Lehner and Lehner 2012). A fourth knife was determined
to be a foldable razor, utilizing a curved blade riveted to a handle. The silver pen-
dant is formed like a capsule and is decorated with an engraved cross. Microchemical
investigation revealed the presence of wax inside (Meier 1989).
Coins
With the exception of eight silver coins and a counterfeiting, all coins are made out
of billon, an alloy of copper and silver of minor value. Most were small, between 16
and 22 mm in diameter. The 184 coins were predominantly minted in Northern Italy,
especially from the mints of Messerano, Monferrato and Savoy. A small part was pro-
duced in other mints in the Northern Alps. The coins span the middle fteenth to the
early seventeenth century but most of them were minted in the second half of the
sixteenth century. The youngest minting date can be found on a “Scudo d’argento”
from Milan (1594). No coin has been introduced after 1610 AD (Diaz Tabernero 2013,
Diaz Tabernero and Gianazza 2014, 2015).
Textiles and leather
The textile fragments are mostly made of wool; some silk fragments were also pre-
served. It was not possible to determine the exact type of clothing from the nds as
sewing or stitching marks are mostly missing (Grabner 2015). Two pairs of shoes and
a sword hanger were reconstructed from the leather fragments (Volken and Volken
2015).
Bones
The animal bones belong to a minimum number of two equids, probably mules,
among them one adult and one subadult individual (Reynaud Savioz 2015).
The human bones likely originate from a single individual as no duplicate skel-
etal elements were observed. The bones resemble each other in size, maturation and
state of preservation.
The individual is represented by parts of the skull, the left humerus, the right
femur and the right and left tibia, as well as the left patella (Figure 4). Approx. 10 %
Figure 4 Preservation of the human remains from the Theodul glacier.

Amelie Alterauge, Sophie Providoli, Negahnaz Moghaddam, and Sandra Lösch
42
of the human skeleton are preserved. None of the bones are complete. Preservation
and representation are bad according to calculated indices (Cooper and Lösch 2013).
The bone surfaces are aked off and the bones are strongly demineralized and are
therefore porous, exible and light. The medullary cavity of the long bones is lled
with a white ceraceous substance (Figure 5).
All observable epiphyses are closed. There is only minimal obliteration of the cra-
nial sutures. The closure of epiphyses and cranial sutures indicates that the individ-
ual was between 20 and 30 years old at death. The morphological age estimation was
conrmed by the results of the radiological assessment. The epiphyseal line between
epi- and diaphysis is no longer visible, and the cancellous bone structure is still dense
and does not show any degeneration.
Sex estimation was based on the skull. Palpable superciliary arches, the broad-
based mastoid process and the eeing forehead all indicate the individual was male.
In addition, two non-metric traits were observed: wormian bones on both sides of
the sagittal suture (Hauser and De Stefano 1989) and a so-called emarginate patella
(Aufderheide and Rodríguez-Martín 1998).
There were no pathological changes on the bones, in particular no evidence for
trauma. It was not possible to determine the cause of death based on the preserved
bones.
Stable isotope analysis
Criteria for collagen quality were fullled with a collagen yield in proportion to the
dry weight of 9.6 % and a molar C/N ratio of 3.2. The sample was analysed for stable
carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope ratios. The δ13C value is -19.9‰, δ15N ratio 9.8‰
and the δ34S is 6.1‰ (Table 1).
Figure 5 Right tibia with a white ceraceous substance in the medullary cavity.

Death in the Ice
43
Sample %Coll. δ13CColl‰δ15N‰ δ34S‰ %C %N %S C/Nmol
skull 9.6 -19.9 9.8 6.1 44.7 16.2 0.1 3.2
Table 1 Isotopic values of the human bone collagen sample from the Theodul glacier.
Discussion
When attempting a forensic reconstruction of a fatal event on a glacier, the place
of death does not necessarily coincide with the site of discovery, as bodies buried
in glacier ice are often transported downhill along glacial ow lines. In the case of
the Theodul glacier, a glaciological interpretation was made difcult as the nds
were mainly recovered from the margin of the glacier and the snow-free adjoining
moraine zone (Meyer 1992, Lehner and Julen-Lehner 1990). Furthermore, the glacier
surface had melted approximately 5 to 10 m between 1984 and 1989. The fact that the
remains were not further scattered is probably due to the slow-moving speed of the
glacier and relatively at terrain at the site. The body parts were found in relative
order as the skull and hair were recovered from higher locations and approximately
40 m away from humerus, tibia and shoes (Julen-Lehner and Lehner 2012) (Figure 2).
The bones were nonetheless spread over a large area and most parts of the body are
still missing. The poor bone preservation is a result of post-mortem thermal cracking
and slumping of the glacier. Continuous freezing and thawing and mechanical stress
resulted in the decomposition of soft tissue and cracking, as well as debonding of the
corticalis. Reckin (2013) suggests that the body was exposed for long enough after
death for its soft tissue to disappear before it was covered by the glacier. The dissolu-
tion of the skeletal carbonate in ice-water under high pressure led to resilient bones.
The white substance in the medullary cavity of the long bones (Figure 5) and the
adjacent bone were tested for the presence of protein, ABO-blood type substances
and UV-uorescence by Krämer, Lehner, and Zink (1988). They found neither protein
nor ABO-blood type substance nor UV-uorescence, but discovered that the bony
carbonate content was increased while the phosphate content was reduced. How-
ever, the current investigation revealed that the collagen content in the bone sample
was quite high which shows a good biochemical preservation of proteins.
The wax-like substance in the medullary cavity contained free fatty acids, among
them especially unsaturated fatty acids. Krämer, Lehner, and Zink (1988) identied
the wax-like substance as adipocere which is formed by the conversion of body fat
under humid and microaerobic conditions (Bereuter et al. 1996). The formation of
adipocere has been observed in glacial (Ambach et al. 1992b) as well as in other moist
environments in Switzerland (Thali et al. 2011).
The individual’s isotopic signature does not differ signicantly from that of other
individuals from the Alps or adjacent regions from different time periods (Mogh-
addam and Lösch 2014, Moghaddam et al. 2016, Lösch et al. 2013, Herrscher 2003, Reit-
sema and Vercellotti 2012, Hakenbeck et al. 2010, Oelze et al. 2012). But comparative
data from the region are scarce.

Amelie Alterauge, Sophie Providoli, Negahnaz Moghaddam, and Sandra Lösch
44
The analysis of the stable carbon isotope ratios in bone collagen can show domi-
nance of certain plant species in the diet. The δ13C values in C3 plants such as wheat
and barley are more negative than in C4 plants due to a strong discrimination against
13C (Lee-Thorp 2008). Even though only one individual was analysed in this study, the
result of the stable carbon isotope ratio indicates that mainly C3 herbivores and C3
plants were consumed.
Stable nitrogen isotopes δ15N reect the intake of animal protein and dairy prod-
ucts. Towards the top of the food chain in an ecosystem the δ15N value increases which
is known as the trophic level effect (Hedges and Reynard 2007). The stable nitrogen
ratio shows an average value compared to other data from Switzerland (Moghaddam
and Lösch 2014, Moghaddam et al. 2016, Lösch et al. 2013). The diet of the individual
from the Theodul glacier was likely composed of mash made of cereals, gardening
products (e.g, cabbage, beans, vegetables and fruits), meat or dairy products from
bovines, cervines, caprines, pigs or poultry, fresh-water sh and presumably wine
or beer which corresponds to a typical diet in the late Middle Ages (Behre 1987) and
early modern period (Van Dülmen 1990, Moghaddam and Lösch 2014).
Analysis of stable sulphur isotope data provides further information about ancient
populations’ diet and mobility through different geographical and geological con-
ditions (Peterson, Howarth, and Garritt 1986, Vika 2009). Terrestrial mammals have
δ34S values lower than +10‰ whereas organisms in marine ecosystems have values
around +20‰ (Richards, Fuller, and Hedges 2001). According to the obtained δ34S
value, a mainly terrestrial based diet can be assumed for the individual from the The-
odul glacier. A comparison with published δ34S data (Moghaddam et al. 2016, Lösch et
al. 2013) indicates that the value does not disagree with an origin from current-day
Switzerland, Southeastern France, Northern Italy or Southern Germany.
The lack of reference data from nearby geographic regions or of similar dating
hampers the interpretation of the isotopic signature of the individual, but the data
can be used as reference for further isotopic research.
Analysis of stable strontium or lead isotopes can provide information about mobil-
ity and migration of humans and animals as it reects the geology of the place of
residence (Bentley, Price, and Stephan 2004). Due to bone diagenesis and the absence
of teeth, those investigations were not taken into consideration for this study. Future
studies could embrace stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in bone apatite to narrow
down potential regions of origin through hydrological and ecological patterning (Lon-
ginelli 1984, Tütken, Langenegger, and Wild 2008, Reynard and Hedges 2008, Maka-
rewicz and Sealy 2015). Paleogenetic analyses might also help to identify the prov-
enance of the individual (Lell and Wallace 2000, Keller et al. 2012, Sikora et al. 2014).
The observed non-metric traits could indicate genetic relations among a larger
population sample or specic pathological conditions. Wormian bones are extra bone
pieces that occur within a suture in the cranium. Although most wormian bones are
normal anatomical variants, they are also associated with several diseases, includ-
ing osteogenesis imperfecta or other developmental abnormalities (Marti et al. 2013,
Brothwell 1959). According to the small number of wormian bones in the present
individual, his condition was probably asymptomatic. The emarginate patella has a

Death in the Ice
45
small notch on the superior-lateral portion of the patella. It represents a persistence
of accessory ossication centres either due to a disruption of the brocartilaginous
zone in young age or due to a genetic determination. It is also mostly asymptomatic
(Köhler and Zimmer 1982, Ulrich-Bochsler and Meyer 2001, White, Black, and Folkens
2012).
The bones of the equids were found approx. 100 m below the other nds. In addi-
tion, several other bones from sheep, pig, chamois and mostly equids were found
around the proper discovery site and were probably washed there by the glacier. It
remains unclear whether the human and animal remains are contemporary; several
horseshoes date approximately to the same period as the coins and weapons and
might also help date some of the animal bones. However, due to their location away
from the human remains and associated nds, the mules did not necessarily accom-
pany the human individual on the glacier but could have arrived there at another
occasion (Julen-Lehner and Lehner 2012, Reynaud Savioz 2015).
The weapons were the primary reason that the remains were rst interpreted
as those of a mercenary. Mercenaries were paid soldiers who were bound to their
employers by a prot motive rather than due to loyalty. In the early modern period,
they fought in large numbers in European armies (Fuhrer and Eyer 2006). However,
the small dimensions of the wheel-lock pistol contradict its use as military weapon.
Furthermore, the combination of rapier and dagger was common among male civil-
ians of the upper class around 1600. While rapiers were slender, sharply pointed
swords best suited for thrusting attacks, daggers were used to assist in defence by
parrying incoming thrusts. They were utilized together in order to have an additional
offensive (and defensive) weapon. The rapier, the dagger, the pistol and two knives
were manufactured in present-day Germany. The engraved wolf mark on the rapier’s
blade indicates fabrication in Passau or Solingen while the smith’s mark on one knife
can be traced to Solingen (Senn 2015). Both Solingen and Passau were internationally
exporting blacksmith centres, prized for the quality of their weaponry. Even though
the individual’s provenance cannot be inferred from these objects, the weapons indi-
cate good contacts to the area north of the Alps (Senn 2015)—either through familial
bonds or commerce. The associated coins indicate the last whereabouts of the indi-
vidual rather than his origin. However, their geographical distribution is too large to
detect his starting point or travel destination (Diaz Tabernero and Gianazza 2015).
In the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, the passage over the Theodul
glacier was an important regional North-South-connection through the Pennine
Alps (Eschmann Richon 2015). Comestible and commercial goods as well as animals
were transported on mule tracks from the Valais to the Aosta Valley and vice versa.
But also farmers looking for new cultivable land used the passage as migration route,
settled in the higher valleys of the Alps and provided paved pathes and an enhanced
transportation system (Lüthi 1978, 1980). Therefore, family and cultural connections
may also account for mobility in the area of the Theodul glacier. During the Little
Ice Age, crossing the Theodulpass certainly became more hazardous because of the
extending glacier (Harriss 1970, Eschmann Richon 2015). It was during this period
that the individual from the Theodul glacier undertook his journey.

Amelie Alterauge, Sophie Providoli, Negahnaz Moghaddam, and Sandra Lösch
46
The weapons as well as the coins assist in the interpretation of the nd complex.
While the weapons could have been used as fashionable accessories by members of
the upper class (Senn 2015), the monetary value of the coins was respectable and
may either represent the yearly salary of a mercenary or the travel fund of a civilian
(Diaz Tabernero and Gianazza 2015). All in all, the identication of the remains as
those of a mercenary must be questioned. The alleged mercenary could instead have
been a tradesman or a wealthy traveller. The individual was probably dressed with
a woollen coat, knee-length trousers and a jerkin adapted to travelling through the
Alps (Grabner 2015). The silver pendant was lled with wax, possibly from a conse-
crated candle, suggesting that it may have served as an amulet or relic capsule. This
may also suggest an interpretation of the remains as those of a pilgrim. The entirety
of the assemblage seems to represent the personal belongings of a civilian rather
than a commercial traveller. However, we cannot rule out that he was transporting
goods on mules that escaped when the owner died. This theory may be questioned
though, as it would have been daring to travel alone for safety reasons, given the cli-
matic conditions at that time. Even though the nds could represent the equipment
of a traveller or tradesman, the reasons for his journey and the circumstances of his
death remain unclear. The presence of coins, weapons and jewellery next to the body
excludes robbery and aggression and suggests that the fatal event on the Theodul
glacier was more likely an accident due to bad weather or an unfortunate fall.
Conclusion
The nds from the Theodul glacier offer unique insight into the fate of a travel-
ler around 1600 AD who probably died in an accident while traversing the glacier.
Even though the remains are probably not those of a mercenary as was previously
believed, the nds are still valuable testimonies of exchange and trafc in early mod-
ern Europe.
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