Researchers have discovered the world’s oldest wine in a Roman cemetery in Spain. The drink contains a surprising ingredient – men’s creams.
On June 18, researchers from the University of Córdoba reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports that they discovered 2,000-year-old wine — the oldest known wine in the world — inside a burial urn in an ancient tomb in Carmona, a city in southwestern Spain.
According to a press release from the university, scientists confirmed that the cremated “skeletal remains of one of the men were immersed in liquid inside a glass funeral urn,” and wine was likely used “as part of [burial] ritual.”
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The location of the world’s oldest wine, found in a Roman tomb in Spain.
Juan Manuel Roman/Journal of Archaeological Science
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Juan Manuel Románm, municipal archaeologist of the Carmona City Council, explained in a press release that “they were very surprised that the liquid was preserved in one of the burial urns” for so long.
In the report, the scientists said that “given the religious importance of wine in the ancient Roman world, where it was highly symbolic and closely associated with funerary rituals, it is not surprising to find vessels that may have originally contained wine among grave goods.”
Scientists also confirmed through chemical testing that the urn contained white wine that had turned reddish-brown over the years. The wine was said to have been inside the tomb since about the first century, and the tomb was tightly sealed, allowing the wine “to retain its natural state.”
The Roman tomb was first discovered in 2019 when a family accidentally found the site while doing work in their house. The university said in a statement that the tomb was “a circular mausoleum that probably housed [high power] family” and contained other trinkets such as jewels, silk cloth, and patchouli-scented perfume. These items were essential “to accompany the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.”
“In ancient Rome, as in other societies, death had a special meaning and people wanted to be remembered in order to, in a way, stay alive,” the university said in its press release.
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The university also pointed out that it was no coincidence that the urn contained the remains of a man since “women in ancient Rome were forbidden to taste wine”.
“There was not a single drop of wine in the urn that contained the woman’s remains,” the researchers explained. “The two glass urns in Carmona’s tomb exemplify the gender division of Roman society and funerary rituals.”
Before the discovery of Roman wine in Spain, scientists thought the world’s oldest wine was from a bottle found in another Roman tomb in Speyer, Germany. Wine was discovered in 1867 and [was] dated to the 4th century.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education