The world's oldest wine was discovered in a funerary urn that also contained the ancient remains of a cremated man as well as a gold, two-headed Janus ring.
Juan Manuel RománThe oldest wine in the world, which had been mixed with the cremated bones of a Roman man who died some 2,000 years ago.
Five years ago, a family in Carmona, Spain, stumbled across a 2,000-year-old sunken Roman tomb in their backyard. The tomb — untouched by looters over the millennia — has yielded a number of impressive artifacts. Now, archaeologists have announced the most astounding find yet: the oldest wine in the world ever discovered in liquid form.
The white wine, poured into a funerary urn some 2,000 years ago, bears a striking resemblance to some Spanish wines of today. In fact, the oldest wine in the world is even still drinkable after two millennia.
The Accidental Discovery Of The Oldest Wine In The World
According to a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the world’s oldest wine was found in a tomb in Carmona, Spain, which a local family discovered by accident in 2019 during renovations. The 2,000-year-old Roman tomb contains eight loculi (or niches), two of which were empty, and six of which contained an urn.
Juan Manuel RománThe sunken tomb went unnoticed for years, saving it from looters and preserving its contents for millennia.
In “niche 8,” researchers discovered a funerary urn containing “cremated bone remains,” a “gold ring” depicting Janus, the Roman god of transitions and endings, and a surprising amount of “reddish liquid.”
“[O]ur first impression upon opening the urn was one of surprise,” study author José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola told All That’s Interesting in an email. “We did not expect it to contain liquid, much less the quantity found (about 4.5 liters). This was the first time something like this had been discovered. Until now, all the funerary urns found contained only cremated bone remains and various objects related to funerary offerings.”
“Regarding the nature of the liquid, we suspected from the beginning that it could be wine. Wine was closely associated with Roman funerary rituals, although it is not described by classical authors as being used to fill funerary urns, which significantly increased our surprise at the discovery.”
Juan Manuel RománThe tomb contained eight niches, six of which had funerary urns. Niche 8, to the right, contained an urn that also contained 2,000-year-old wine.
Indeed, researchers tested the liquid, and found that the “liquid in the ash urn was decayed wine.” What’s more, they were able to determine that it was originally a white wine whose color probably changed over time.
“The results obtained in this work strongly suggest that the reddish liquid in the ash urn was originally wine that decayed with time, and that it was about 2000 years old, and hence the oldest wine found to date,” the study stated.
Though Ruiz Arrebola “had some reservations” about tasting the oldest wine in the world himself, he told All That’s Interesting: “[M]y colleague Daniel Cosano, a co-author of the work, ventured to taste it this very morning. The flavor is salty, which is not surprising given its chemical composition, specifically its high concentration of potassium and sodium.”
How Wine Was Used In Ancient Roman Funerary Practices
Though researchers were surprised to find the oldest wine in the world inside this Roman tomb, it’s well known that Romans used wine as part of their funerary practices.
Juan Manuel RománTesting the liquid in the urn revealed that it was white wine, not dissimilar to wine produced in the region today.
“Given the religious significance of wine in the ancient Roman world, where it was highly symbolic and closely related to burial rituals, it is unsurprising to find vessels that might have originally contained wines among burial furnishings,” the study’s authors explained in their study.
Of the burial ritual itself, the researchers further explained: “[O]nce the cremated remains were placed in it, the urn must have been filled with wine in a sort of libation ritual in the burial ceremony or as part of the burial rite to help the deceased in their transition to a better world.”
As such, the Roman tomb in Carmona stands as an astonishingly well-preserved example of how Romans mourned their dead and laid their loved ones to rest.
In addition to the oldest wine in the world, researchers have also documented various objects in the other urns, including rings, “ivory sheets” that perhaps once belonged to a box burned on a funeral pyre, jars, bowls, a plate that may have once held food and drink offerings, and a bottle made of rock crystal — known as a unguentarium — which contained patchouli perfume.
Though the tomb was forgotten for 2,000 years, it’s clear that the people buried inside were not. Their loved ones tended to their graves with rituals and gifts, painting a picture of love and devotion that remains potent to this day.
After reading about the discovery of the oldest wine in the world, look through these fascinating facts about life in ancient Rome. Then, discover the story of Baiae, the sunken party town of ancient Rome.
