Virtual expedition: 350 year old glacier mummy fascinatingly rediscovered!

Virtual expedition: 350 year old glacier mummy fascinatingly rediscovered!

Gurgler Ferner, Tirol, Österreich - The project "The Bird from the Eis" of the Innsbruck universities opens up new perspectives in interdisciplinary research. On May 28, 2025, this innovative project was presented, which combines science and virtual reality. The aim is to enable interactive expeditions to a virtual reality environment that extends to an altitude of 3,000 meters in the Ötztaler Alps.

The center of the project is the glacier mummy of a purple rist (Ardea Purpura), which also died in Gurgler more than 350 years ago. This mummy, which was discovered in 2015, offers valuable insights into history and environmental conditions by the latest research techniques, including micro-CT, MRI and histological analyzes. The state of Tyrol has promoted the project with 60,665 euros, which underlines the importance and Engagement for the processing and research of such extraordinary finds.

Interactive expedition and technology use

The Tyrolean XR company Mediasquad has developed the virtual environment, which enables users to immerse themselves in the exciting world of glacier mummy. Participants can not only look at the mummy interactively and three -dimensional, but also experience virtual preserving processes and understand research steps. This is done in the form of a digital autopsy, which is supplemented by an accompanying questionnaire for didactic effectiveness.

The use of Extended Reality (XR) is considered a key technology for the future of medicine. Johannes Pallua, the project manager and expert in medical imaging, emphasizes the relevance of these technologies, especially for orthopedic-traumatological research approaches. Virtual models offer the opportunity to simulate and explore complex orthopedic interventions.

meaning of glacier mummies

glacier mummies not only provide interesting historical insights, they also show how climate change and the melting glacier bring extraordinary finds to light. The importance of such finds for the understanding of environmental conditions and ways of life in the past cannot be assessed highly enough. The project particularly addresses students and researchers from the fields of archeology, biology and medicine.

Public appointments for the virtual expedition are offered, but registration is required. This initiative is an impressive example of how innovative technologies such as virtual reality can be integrated into scientific research and open up new ways to understand our history. Further information can be found on the websites of the University of Innsbruck and Tirol: University of Innsbruck and Tirol there .