The Discovery of the World’s Oldest Beer Brewery

The Discovery of the World’s Oldest Beer Brewery – Beer has indeed become one of the drink choices that have its own fans and charms, with different tastes and enjoyments that make many people like it.

On Saturday (13/2) Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced that archaeologists have discovered a site of the oldest former beer production in the world. The former brewery was found at an ancient burial site in northern Abydos, southern Egypt. The former brewery is west of the Nile and the distance between the discovery site and the capital Cairo is about 450 kilometers.

A joint team of Egyptian and American scientists was the one who discovered the place. Launching from the Sky News page, the Secretary General of Antiquities of Egypt, Mostafa Waziry explained that it is possible that the latest archaeological finds are “the oldest brewery stop in the world.”

1. Around 5,000 years old

In research and investigation of the beer site, it is possible that the place was established during the era of King Narmer. King Narmer ruled in ancient Egypt between the years 3273-2987 BC. He was the founder of the First Dynasty which united Upper and Lower Egypt.

It was British archaeologists who first tracked down the brewery in the 1900s. However, the exact location has never been determined. Now Egyptian-American archaeologists have discovered and begun excavating the site of the ancient brewery. The estimated age of the brewery found is around 5,000 years.

According to Mostafa Waziry’s explanation, the ancient brewery consisted of eight sectors. Each sector has 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows. The size of each row of pottery placement locations is about 20 meters x 2.5 meters.

The pots have the function of heating a mixture of grains with water to produce the beer in question. The quantity of production at one time is estimated at 22,400 liters. This amount of beer produced automatically makes the site the factory with the highest production volume in ancient times.

2. Beer for royal rituals

The Abydos region, where the site of an ancient brewery was found, is famous for having a monument honoring the god Osiris. The god Osiris is believed to serve as a god after life and is responsible for judging the souls of dead humans in the afterlife. Because it is famous for the monument to Osiris, Abydos has extensive and elaborate tombs and temples that are thought to have stood since the early days of ancient Egypt.

The beer site discovery and excavation mission was chaired by Matthew Adams of New York University. Launching from the page The Guardian, Adams stated that the factory was apparently built to provide beer for royal rituals.

Many archaeologists have found evidence that beer was also used as part of rituals or sacrifices in ancient Egypt. “Evidence of the use of beer in the sacrificial ceremony was found during excavations at this facility,” Adams was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

In 2015, a fragment of broken Egyptian pottery was found and it is thought to have been used for pottery used for brewing beer. The age of the pottery fragment is estimated to be around 5,000 years and was found.

3. The site of the birthplace of Egyptian history

Abydos has an area of ​​about eight square kilometers. The place, according to the official website, has many records as the birthplace of Egyptian history. The ancestors of the first Egyptian kings were buried in this area.

Expeditions to search for the ancient temple of Osiris in the region have started since 1965 until now. The average expedition in Abydos is a collaboration between Egypt and several US universities such as New York University, Princeton University and other universities. Various archaeological treasures have been found in this region.

In recent years, Egypt has reported many surprises about archaeological finds. The latest surprising discovery was the discovery of a mummy with a golden tongue near Alexandria. The use of gold on the tongue is accompanied by an amulet to speak fluently in the afterlife.