Ancient discovery: 2,000-year-old wine with human remains found

Scientists have just confirmed that the liquid in a tomb is the oldest preserved liquid wine. However, in the 2,000-year-old glass amphora, they found not only grape "juice."

The oldest preserved wine is 2,000 years old. The bottle was discovered in 2019 in the Andalusian city of Carmona during a home renovation. A Spanish family unexpectedly discovered an extraordinarily well-preserved Roman necropolis beneath their property.

According to a recently published study in the "Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports," the tomb dates from the first half of the first century AD, containing eight niches carved into the walls. Inside the ancient tomb, the world's oldest preserved wine still in liquid form was found. The once white wine has turned a reddish-brown colour over the centuries.

No one can verify whether the saying, "the older the wine, the better" holds true after 2,000 years. In almost 5 litres of reddish liquid, there were cremated bones of a man, as well as a gold ring. Considering the religious significance of wine in the ancient Roman world, where it was highly symbolic and closely related to funeral rituals, this discovery was not surprising to historians.

Before this discovery in Carmona, the oldest known wine preserved in liquid form was a bottle unearthed from a Roman tomb near the German city of Speyer in 1867. Dated between 325 and 350 AD, it is the oldest known unopened bottle of wine. Since its discovery, it has been displayed at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer.