Notes

The most important item of the Iceman’s equipment is his copper-bladed axe. The carefully smoothed yew haft is around 60 cm long. At the top of the haft there is a forked shaft into which the blade was fixed with birch tar and tightly bound with thin leather straps to keep it in place.The 9.5 cm blade is trapezoidal in shape and made of almost pure copper. The narrow end was produced by cold-hammering after the blade was cast. It allowed the blade, which shows clear signs of use, to be fixed more securely in the haft. Archaeological experiments have shown that the copper axe was an ideal tool for felling trees and could fell a yew tree in 35 minutes without sharpening. The axe was therefore not just a symbol of rank. In the period around 3000 years BC, copper axes were a status symbol and must have been cherished as weapons. Perhaps the Iceman was therefore a tribal leader or warrior.It allowed the blade, which shows clear signs of use, to be fixed more securely in the haft.Archaeological experiments have shown that the copper axe was an ideal tool for felling trees and could fell a yew tree in 35 minutes without sharpening.The axe was therefore not just a symbol of rank. In the period around 3000 years BC, copper axes were a status symbol and must have been cherished as weapons. Perhaps the Iceman was therefore a tribal leader or warrior. The metal for the axe edge was smelted from copper ore. It was then heated into a molten state and cast. Finally shaping was accomplished by cold-forging. The edge shows clear signs of use and resharpening with a whetstone. The haft, i.e. the handle of the axe, was carved from the split wood of a yew tree. A nearly right-angled branch growing out of the trunk was used. The axe blade is held in a slit in the haft with birch tar. It was then bound in place with narrow strips of leather.
Using a replica of the axe, it took just over half an hour to fell a yew tree.