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In a 2,000-year-old Roman tomb near Seville in Spain, an ash urn was discovered containing a glass jar with the "oldest wine preserved in a liquid state". (Image). Analysis using plasma mass spectrometry to determine the chemical elements confirmed that it was probably white wine, reports the Journal of Archaeological Science. The vessel contained five litres of it.
During Roman funeral rites, it was customary for urns containing the cremated human remains to be filled with wine "to ease the deceased's transition to a better world", according to the archaeologists. While the pH value of the liquid now corresponds to that of water, the researchers found seven types of wine polyphenols. These correspond to those of wines that are still produced in Andalusia today.
The oldest wine still in liquid form to date was discovered in 1867 in the German city of Speyer and dated back to the 4th century A.D. As it was never chemically analysed, it was assumed that it was wine. Other wine residues found were not liquid, but resinous residues, as the report explains: "Until now, all studies on the chemical characterisation of Roman wines - or ancient wines in general - have been based on analyses of absorbed residues (carboxylic acids and polyphenols, mainly) in different types of vessels, but never on liquids." This makes the Spanish find the first ancient wine in liquid form to be scientifically analysed.
Dr José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola from the University of Córdoba, who led the chemical analysis, said he would not taste the wine. Although tests showed that the liquid was completely non-toxic, it had been in contact with human remains for 2,000 years.
(al / source: decanter)