Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered hundreds of ancient jars that contain remains of 5,000-year-old wine.
A team of researchers uncovered the sealed wine jars, which appear to have never been opened, at a royal tomb in the Umm El Qa’āb necropolis, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MTA) announced in a statement Sunday.
The necropolis—located in the ancient Egyptian city of Abydos—is home to several royal tombs from the Early Dynastic Period, which spanned roughly four centuries from around the beginning of the 3rd millennium B.C.
The burial site has been the subject of repeated excavations by the German Archaeological Institute (GAI) in Cairo since the 1970s.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
Abydos is one of the oldest and most important archaeological sites of ancient Egypt, with a history of occupation that stretches back as far back as 3300 B.C.
Located around 7 miles of west of the Nile river, the sacred city overlooks a desert valley that the ancient Egyptians believed offered passage to the realm of the dead.
The city’s necropolis served as a burial ground for the earliest ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and later became a center of worship for the cult of Osiris, the god of the underworld.
“With its valuable inscriptions and numerous funerary monuments, Abydos has perhaps contributed more than any other site in Egypt to our present understanding of the history of state formation, linguistic development, and architecture in ancient Egypt,” the World Monuments Fund says.
The recently discovered wine jars were found at the tomb of Queen Merneith, a mysterious figure who was likely a woman of great significance from ancient Egypt’s First Dynasty.
Very few details about her life are available. Some scholars consider Merneith to be the first female pharaoh of Egypt, although it is unclear whether or not she reigned alone for a period of time. Her rule may have begun around 2950 B.C.—but the nature of her role remains a mystery.
The wine jars found at her tomb are large in size and in a good state of preservation, according to the MTA. Archaeologists said the remains of the wine inside the jars are around 5,000 years old.
The archaeological work conducted at the tomb has indicated that it was built of raw bricks, clay and wooden planks.
Researchers have also uncovered more than 40 graves built for her servants and courtiers next to her tomb, which appear to have been constructed in phases over a long period of time. The evidence to date suggests that Merneith was the only female First Dynasty royal to have her own tomb at the necropolis.
The excavations have unveiled new historical information about the life and reign of the queen, Dietrich Raue, director of the GAI, said in the statement.
A study of the inscriptions on one of the plaques found inside the tomb has shown that Merneith held a “great position” given that she was in charge of central government offices. This lends support to the hypothesis that she held a historically significant role.
“The mission is continuing its work in an attempt to uncover more secrets of the history and identity of this queen,” he said.