The world’s oldest wine jar containing a man’s ashes in a Roman tomb reveals burial practices in the 1st century.
Earlier this year, archaeologists announced that the strange liquid inside a 2,000-year-old glass jar originating from Andalusia was the oldest wine ever found. The wine jar was discovered in 2019 in a Roman tomb in Carmona. Now, researchers have found the cremated bones of a man immersed in liquid dating back to the first century AD. Independent reported on September 30.
The wine jar described in the journal Archaeological Science is older than the wine bottle Speyer discovered in 1867 and dates back to the 4th century. “Initially, we were surprised by the liquid stored in one of the urns containing ashes. “, archaeologist Juan Manuel Román in Carmona province shared. To confirm the liquid was alcohol, the team conducted a series of chemical analyzes to assess its pH, organic matter and salt content. They then compared the detected chemicals with present-day Montilla-Moriles, Jerez and Sanlúcar wines.
The key to identifying a liquid as alcohol lies in the polyphenol compounds found in all types of wine. Scientists found 7 polyphenol compounds also present in Montilla-Moriles, Jerez and Sanlúcar wines. But finding the origins of the ancient wine is challenging because there are no contemporaneous samples to compare it to.
Meanwhile, the existence of cremated human bones reveals more about popular burial practices in Spain during Roman times. The bones were soaked in wine along with the gold ring. The fact that the bones belonged to a man was no coincidence, according to the archaeological team. Women in ancient Rome were forbidden to drink wine, a drink reserved for men. The existence of ashes in urns reflects Roman society’s gender discrimination in burial rites.
Another jar found in the grave contained the bones of a woman but no drop of wine. Instead, it contains three pieces of amber jewelry, a perfume jar, patchouli, and silk fabric. Wine, perfume, rings and many other objects are placed in graves for burial, stemming from the notion that the dead need them on their journey to the afterlife.