In September 1991, an ordinary Alpine hike turned into something extraordinary, changing the course of modern archaeology. While out for a walk, Helmut and Erika Simon spotted what looked like a body on a glacier along the Austria-Italy border. No one imagined they'd stumbled upon an ancient find; they thought it might just be a recent victim of a climbing accident, considering the dangerous conditions up in those mountains.
According to a review in the National Center for Biotechnology Information, what first looked like a modern-day fatality was actually one of the oldest and best-preserved mummies ever found, and the initial confusion gave way to astonishment when tests revealed the person's true age.
