Copper axe Ötzi’s axe was preserved intact and is the only one of its kind in the world. The blade consists of 99.7% pure copper and is trapezoidal in shape. The knee haft is made from yew and is approx. 60 cm long. The copper blade is fixed into the forked shaft of the haft with birch tar and is tightly bound with leather straps to hold it firmly in place. The blade was cast in a mould, cooled and then compressed by hammering. Signs of wear show that the axe had been frequently used and therefore had to be re-sharpened. The copper used in the blade does not derive from the Alpine region but from Central Italy. Researchers have discovered that the metal had been obtained from ore mined in South Tuscany.

Status symbol, weapon or tool Copper was the first metal to be used to make weapons and tools. Mining and smelting skills spread from Asia Minor to Central Europe 4000 years BC. Around 3000 BC, high-ranking men owned a copper axe, which was often buried with them. A copper axe was used not only for woodworking and felling trees but was also a powerful close-combat weapon. Was Ötzi a tribal leader? It remains a mystery why the attacker didn’t take this valuable copper axe. Would it have exposed him as a murderer?