The Secret of the Ice Prince: How a 1.5-year-old Boy Became a Symbol of Wealth and Pain of the VII Century Elite

📍 Bavaria | 🗓️ May 2025 | 🕒 3 min read

Almost four years after the sensational discovery in Germany, archaeologists have completed a full analysis of the mysterious tomb, which has been dubbed the Ice Prince's grave. This is the burial of a small boy from the 7th century, found in extraordinarily luxurious surroundings, near the village of Tussenhausen in Bavaria.

❄ Why "Ice Prince"?

This is not just a beautiful name - archaeologists actually froze the tomb with liquid nitrogen before extracting it from the ground. This technology was necessary to preserve the fragile remains and unique organic materials: silk, leather, wood.

Specialists from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection (BLfD) developed a unique methodology: they reinforced the tomb with wooden shields, froze the contents in layers, and extracted it as a single block. After delivery to the laboratory in Bamberg, lengthy work began: thawing, stabilization, DNA research, and artifact examination.

👶 Who was this child?

The boy died between 670 and 680 CE at the age of about 1.5 years. He had blue eyes and light-colored hair, as shown by genetic analysis. The cause of death was sepsis, caused by a common ear infection - a tragedy typical for the era before the invention of antibiotics.

Research confirmed that the child was born and raised in the same region. He was a member of the elite, whose family could afford such rarities as eastern silk from Byzantium, silver, and handcrafted weapons.

⚔ Burial with royal grandeur

The little one was laid on fur, dressed in a linen shirt with Byzantine inserts, leather pants, and shoes. His wrists were adorned with silver bracelets, his shoes had silver spurs, and on his belt was a sword in a leather scabbard with gold details.

Special attention was drawn to a fabric with a cross-shaped gold insert, possibly related to early Christianity.

Next to the body were:

• a bronze basin and comb (for ritual washing),

• wooden bowls,

• a silver-rimmed drinking cup,

• food offerings - hazelnuts, apples, a pear, and a piglet (not a dog, as previously thought).

These items symbolized a funeral feast, a kind of farewell and invitation to the other world.

🏛 Memory through centuries

The building where the Ice Prince was buried is a repurposed Roman structure. After the burial, it was rebuilt at least twice, turning into a memorial complex where rituals were likely performed for many years.

"This family not only arranged a lavish funeral but also carefully preserved the memory of the child for decades", - noted Mathias Pfeil, director of BLf