[MR] History Blog: The Bavarian “Ice Prince”

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Recently the History Blog reported on the discovery of a 3,500 year-old
grave containing a noble child in Mattsies, Bavaria. The burial was
actually discovered in 2021, but the scientific results have just been
announced.

The toddler was buried in a reused tomb at a Roman villa about 670 CE.
Thanks to an expertly constructed burial chamber within the tomb, the body,
clothing and grave goods were still intact. The child was dressed in fine
linen, trimmed with silk, and had a tiny sword, silver spurs and silver
bracelets on each wrist. A cloth with a cross of thin gold strips suggests
the family might have been Christian, though a basin, bowl, cup, food
offerings and a comb suggest pagan influences.

The child has been dubbed the "Ice Prince of Mattsies", thanks to the
unusual method used to recover the remains. The entire grave was
quick-frozen with liquid nitrogen, allowing the solid block of soil to be
removed in one piece for preservation and study.

The History Blog story is at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/73246
. The story was also covered by Archaeology News at
https://archaeologymag.com/2025/05/life-and-death-of-the-ice-prince-of-mattsies/
.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.