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Settlement for German who found Alpine ice man Oetzi

Jun 16, 2009, 14:05 GMT

Nuremberg, Germany - The woman who co-discovered a mummified man in the alpine glaciers of northern Italy was awarded a financial settlement on Tuesday, after years of wrangling. Erika Simon was finally rewarded with 150,000 euros (208,000 dollars) for finding the remains of the man, dubbed Oetzi, with her late husband Helmut during a mountain hike 18 years ago. Oetzi's 5,000-year-old mummified body is now on display in the South Tyrol Archaeology Museum in Bolzano, where his clothing and weapons offer a window into Stone Age lifestyles. Simon spoke of 'happiness and relief,' as the Italian regional government of South Tyrol agreed to pay the sum to her and her two sons. Helmut Simon had died during a mountain accident in 2004. South Tyrol originally offered just 50,000 euros for the historic find, a sum that Simon's lawyer had countered with a five-fold demand. The legal fight was 'definitively' ended, said Simon's lawyer Georg Rudolph. He said the family finally accepted the compromise, since 'an end to the horror was better than endless horror.'

Europe News

Settlement for German who found Alpine ice man Oetzi

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