2,000-Year-Old Wine Found in Ancient Spanish Burial Site
During excavations in an ancient Roman mausoleum in Spain, archaeologists discovered wine that is 2,000 years old.
Research revealed that this is the oldest alcoholic beverage to have survived in liquid form.
The unique find was made in the largest necropolis on the Iberian Peninsula, located in the city of Carmona, Andalusia.
Archaeologists discovered the tomb of a wealthy family in 2019. Further excavations revealed an entrance to an underground tomb.
Inside the tomb’s wall niches, researchers found eight urns made of limestone and sandstone. Two vessels, sealed in lead containers, were made of glass. One of these contained a red liquid, which turned out to be wine.
Chemical analysis identified the liquid as white wine. According to scientists, the red color resulted from chemical processes that occurred in the bottle over two millennia.
The necropolis, where this remarkable discovery was made, dates back to the first half of the 1st century AD. Scientists believe that similar wine might have been tasted by Christ at that time.