Topics: Food and Drink, History
Scientists have discovered what people were putting in their wine back in the day and it's enough to put you off the drink for life.
When it comes to a good glass of wine, you might wonder what gives it that extra bit of flavor... well, the oldest wine certainly has an interesting addition.
Alcoholic beverages like beer and wine are found in communities and societies throughout the world. And when it comes to human history, we find that most gave the drinks a go.
After discovering a bottle of wine in a Roman tomb in Spain, scientists were able to reveal some fascinating details - one of which might turn your stomach a bit.
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On June 18, researchers at the University of Córdoba published their findings in in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Speaking of the discovery of the 2,000-year-old wine, the university said: "In ancient Rome, as in other societies, death had a special meaning, and people wanted to be remembered to, in some way, stay alive."
It was found inside a funeral urn in an ancient tomb in Carmona, a southwestern town in Spain.
The Roman tomb was first discovered in 2019 when a family accidentally found the site while having work done in their home.
If it wasn’t cool enough a family had discovered the oldest-known wine, when scientists did chemical testing they found that it was in fact white wine that had turned a reddish-brown hue over the years.
The wine was reportedly inside the tomb since around the first century, and the tomb was well-sealed, allowing the wine 'to maintain its natural state'.
Though after doing some more digging into the drink, scientists found something pretty grim.
Further analysis of the wine revealed it contained cremated human remains.
Speaking to All That’s Interesting, organic chemist at the University of Córdoba José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola said: “This was the first time something like this had been discovered.
“We did not expect it to contain liquid, much less the quantity found.
“Until now, all the funerary urns found contained only cremated bone remains and various objects related to funerary offerings.”
Explaining how the team determined it was wine, he explained: “We looked for biomarkers, which are chemical compounds that unequivocally tell you what a particular substance is."
Among the other artefacts discovered in the tomb was a funerary urn with 'cremated bone remains' and a gold ring decorated after the two-headed Roman deity Janus.
