Scientists discover world’s oldest wine contains man’s ashes

Researchers have discovered the world’s oldest known wine in a Roman cemetery in Spain, and the drink contains a surprising ingredient: the remains of a man.

On June 18, researchers from the University of Córdoba reported in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences that they had discovered 2,000-year-old wine (the oldest known wine in the world) inside a funerary urn in an ancient tomb in the southwestern Spanish town of Carmona.

According to a university press release, scientists found that “the remains of one of the men were immersed in liquid inside a glass urn,” and wine was likely used “as part of the liquid.” [burial] Ceremony. ”

“We were very surprised to discover that liquid had been preserved for such a long time in one of the funerary urns,” Juan Manuel Roman, municipal archaeologist for the Carmona City Council, explained in a news release.

“Given that wine was highly symbolic and closely associated with burial rites in the ancient Roman world, and that it carried religious significance, it is not surprising that vessels that may have originally contained wine have been found amongst funerary furnishings,” the scientists wrote in the report.

Chemical tests also confirmed that the jar contained white wine that had turned reddish-brown over time. The wine is believed to have been in the tomb since the 1st century, and because the tomb was tightly sealed, the wine “remained in its natural state.”

The Roman tomb was discovered by chance in 2019 while a family was doing work on their home. The university said in a news release that the tomb was “a circular mausoleum, possibly [high power] Inside were drawings of “family memories,” as well as trinkets such as jewelry, silks, and patchouli-scented perfume – essentials that would “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 some way to continue living on,” the university said in a news release.

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The university also noted that it was no coincidence that the urn contained a man’s body, as “women in ancient Rome were forbidden to drink wine.”

“The urn containing the woman’s remains did not contain a drop of wine,” the researchers explained, “so the two glass urns from the Carmona tomb are an example of the gender division in Roman society and funeral rituals.”

Before the discovery of Roman wine in Spain, scientists thought the world’s oldest wine came from a bottle found in another Roman tomb in Speyer, Germany. This wine was discovered in 1867 and [was] It dates back to the 4th century.”