High Definition Iceman

Now you too can observe Otzi the Iceman in extreme-closeup detail from the comfort of your home, thanks to the Iceman Photoscan project.

They’ve taken 150,000 high definition images from 12 different angles, in normal and UV light. You can zoom in on his every tattoo, to the width of just a few millimeters, and you can even view him in 3D if you have the glasses.

The detail is crazy. You can see every pore, every hair follicle, every scrap of clothing.

To keep him as well-preserved as possible, his living space duplicates the conditions of the glacier in which he so happily slumbered for thousands of years. Otzi lives in a darkened chamber, climate controlled to a perpetual -6°C (21°F) with 98% humidity.

There’s a viewing window so visitors to the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology can file past and give him a peek, but it’s 40 x 40 cm (15 x 15 inches) area, so you don’t exactly get an eyefull. Hence this high definition picture scanning project.