Grass matting

The remains of long blades of Alpine swamp grass were recovered at the site where Ötzi was found. The item these woven pieces belonged to is a bit of a mystery:

At first it was thought that it was a mat for laying onto wet ground. Then it was believed to be a rain cape, and finally that it may have been used for sheltering from bad weather. We can’t be sure, since there were too few remains to get an overall picture.

The really extraordinary thing about this find is that the blades of grass were preserved in the ice for over 5000 years!