The 5,000-year-old prehistoric hunter was found in a glacier in the Oetz mountain valley in 1991. The mummy is housed in a Bolzano museum.

The lab will be headed by German researcher Albert Zink of Munich University, one of the world's leading experts on the mummified Neolithic man -- also known as Oetzi -- ANSA said Thursday.

Until now, most of the major research work on the project has been done outside Bolzano, the news service said.