Sealed jars of wine from 5,000 years ago have been uncovered in an Egyptian queen’s tomb.
The find, one of the oldest ever, was amongst the grave goods of Queen Meret-Neith in Abydos, from 3,000 B.C.
Researchers from the University of Vienna say she was the most powerful woman of the period and possibly the first female pharaoh of ancient Egypt.
Queen Meret-Neith was the only woman to have her own monumental tomb in Egypt’s first royal cemetery at Abydos.
Although her true identity remains a mystery, the excavation revealed hundreds of jars of wine, some still sealed, buried with her.
Queen Meret-Neith’s monumental tomb complex in the Abydos desert, which includes the tombs of 41 courtiers and servants in addition to her own burial chamber, was built of unbaked mud bricks, clay, and wood.
In addition, inscriptions testify that Queen Meret-Neith was responsible for central government offices such as the treasury, which supports the idea of her special historical significance.
Archaeologist Christiana Köhler from the University of Vienna said that a lot of the finds are undergoing analysis to reveal their secrets.
“The wine was no longer liquid, and we can’t tell if it was red or white,” she said. “We found a lot of organic residue, grape seeds, and crystals, possibly tartar, and all of this is currently being scientifically analyzed.
“It is probably the second-oldest direct evidence for wine, the oldest also comes from Abydos.
“The new excavations bring to light exciting new information about this unique woman and her time.”
The archaeological team found evidence of a huge amount of grave goods, including hundreds of large wine jars.
Some of them were very well preserved and even still sealed in their original state, containing the remains of 5,000-year-old wine.
Thanks to careful excavation methods and various new archaeological technologies, the team was able to show that the tombs were built in several construction phases and over a relatively long period of time.
This observation, together with other evidence, radically challenges the idea of a ritual human sacrifice as part of the royal burial in the First Dynasty, which was often assumed in early research but never proven.
The team is working in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, the University of Vienna, the Vienna University of Technology in Austria, and Lund University in Sweden.
