( CNN ) About 150,000 years ago -- give or take 20,000 -- a guy fell into a well . Last month he made science history . The Altamura Man became the oldest Neanderthal to have his DNA extracted by researchers . It took them more than 20 years to get around to doing it . Scientists in southern Italy have known about him since 1993 , when spelunkers spied his skull staring blankly back at them from its nook in the Lamalunga cave , deep under the town of Altamura . The cave explorers told researchers at the University of Bari what they 'd found , according to their report published in March in the Journal of Human Evolution and Phys.org . Altamura Man 's intact skull and jumbled pile of bones made for a great specimen , but they were wedged into a panoply of stalactites and stony globules deposited by water dripping over them for tens of thousands of years . Researchers decided not to rescue the bones for fear that trying to ease them out of the cave 's calcified grip would shatter them and ruin Altamura Man . So , they left him forever a cave man . Calcite pebbles line the Neanderthal 's eye sockets , nose bone and an upper jaw like a hundred decorative piercings . Analysis of the calcite has shown the bones to be 128,000 to 187,000 years old . Scientists believe Altamura Man wound up in the cave at least that long ago after falling into a prehistoric well , then died in the caverns at its bottom of thirst or hunger . Recently , researchers made an exception , and toted off a chip from his right shoulder blade to the lab . Metrics taken of his skeleton confirm Altamura Man was a Homo neanderthalensis . He will spend perhaps endless eons glaring silently out of his cranny in the world 's most secluded spot , or , as Altamura 's archeological museum describes it , `` in the corner of a small cavity situated between the ground and the back wall . '' The scientists hope they will be able to sequence his DNA , to find out more about the evolution of all hominids -- including us . And to hear some of Altamura Man 's story about life in Neanderthals ' early days in Europe , before he happened to stumble into that darned hole .
Scientists in southern Italy have known about him since 1993 . Researchers worried that rescuing the bones would shatter them .