A remarkably preserved grave in Mattsies, Bavaria, has allowed archaeologists to piece together the life of a young boy, nicknamed the “Ice Prince of Mattsies,” buried over 1,350 years ago. Discovered in 2021 by the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, the burial, dating to around 670–680 CE, reveals the wealth and cultural connections of an early medieval family. The use of a novel freezing technique to preserve the grave has provided a wealth of information about the child and his society.
Credit: BLfD
Found within the remnants of a Roman villa, the grave contained the remains of a boy aged about one and a half years. DNA tests revealed he had blue eyes and light hair, and isotopic analysis suggests he was born in the Allgäu region. His death resulted from a chronic infection caused by an untreated ear infection, a frequent cause of mortality in that era. The burial chamber, built from stone and sealed with lime mortar, was an elaborate construction, indicating the boy’s family held significant status.
To protect the delicate contents, the entire grave was frozen and moved to laboratories in Bamberg for study. Mathias Pfeil, General Conservator of the Bavarian State Office, highlighted the success of this approach, stating it allowed researchers to uncover detailed insights. The boy was laid on animal hide, dressed in leather shoes, trousers, and a linen tunic adorned with silk strips, a rare material sourced from the Byzantine Empire. Silver spurs on his shoes and silver bracelets on his wrists underscored his family’s wealth. A small sword with a gold-decorated sheath, likely symbolic, was placed beside him, along with a fabric cross made of gold leaf, suggesting early Christian influences.
The grave also held a bronze basin containing a comb, a wooden bowl, a drinking cup with silver fittings, and food offerings, including hazelnuts, apples, a pear, and a piglet, initially mistaken for a dog. These items point to a burial ritual involving a ceremonial meal. The site was remodelled at least twice after the burial, serving as a place of remembrance for decades, a sign of the family’s lasting reverence for the child.
The findings illuminate the Alemanni, a Germanic tribe in southern Germany, and their connections to Roman and Christian traditions. Ongoing isotopic studies aim to reveal more about the boy’s diet and origins, offering further clues about early medieval life in Bavaria.
