According to a saying, wine gets better with age, but the recent discovery of the world’s oldest recorded wine in a 2,000-year-old Roman tomb in southwestern Spain is truly astonishing!
It was found that the ancient wine, still in liquid form, was sealed alongside the cremated bones of a human male at the base of one of several funeral urns discovered in the tomb. The urns and the tomb itself were initially unearthed in the town of Carmona. A homeowner stumbled upon an underground chamber during renovations in 2019 and reported the finding to town officials.
Scientists have noted that the wine remained undisturbed and unlooted, preserving its original state over two millennia.
While the tomb provided various artifacts for study, it was the contents of the funeral urn that piqued the researchers’ interest. They discovered a completely sealed compartment between the urn and its lid, believed to prevent liquid evaporation and oxidation, though the wine has severely deteriorated.
Organic chemistry professor José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola from the University of Córdoba explained that the sealed compartment may have been a preservation method. The presence of wine with human cremains represents an unprecedented practice, possibly indicating a ritualistic use for the wine.
Chemical analysis revealed biomarkers known as polyphenols, confirming the liquid as wine, albeit significantly altered from its original state due to the passage of time.
Despite the abnormalities, the ancient wine displayed striking similarities to contemporary wines produced in the Baetic region. It is speculated that the Romans might have used the wine for funeral rites, perhaps as a symbolic gesture to guide the deceased to the afterlife.
In addition to the wine, traces of an ancient perfume found with female bones in a sealed crystal vial hints at the preservation of other organic materials within the tomb.
The tomb’s intact condition since its sealing allows for the examination of various materials that have survived, shedding light on ancient burial practices and cultural beliefs.
Plans are underway for an exhibition in October next year to showcase the wine and other findings from the tomb, offering a glimpse into the past and the mysteries it holds.
As researchers delve further into the mysteries surrounding the ancient wine and its preservation, questions regarding its aging potential, storage conditions, and the degree of maturation remain under investigation. Perhaps, in the coming years, more secrets of this ancient wine and the civilization it belonged to will be unveiled.