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Tutankhamen's
Tomb Contained Pitchers of Red Wine, Study Finds
Tutankhamen, the Egyptian boy king whose tomb was
opened in 1922, was buried along with pitchers filled with red wine, according
to Spanish scientists.
Tests on three jars housed in the Egyptian Museum in
Cairo and another three in the British Museum in London revealed traces of a
compound found in red wine, said Maria Rosa Guasch-Jane, a member of a team of
scientists from the University of Barcelona.
Egyptologists had previously been unable to determine
what sort of wine was contained in the pitchers. Wine was a luxury drink in
ancient Egypt and its production and consumption was often depicted in tomb
paintings, Guasch-Jane said today.
``In death, the king had to have the same things he had
in life,'' Guasch-Jane told a press conference in the British Museum. ``The
Egyptians wanted the dead to have the same food and objects that they had in
life.''
The scientists used liquid chromatography and mass
spectrometry in tandem to analyze the residues and identified syringic acid in
two of the jars taken from Tutankhamen's tomb. The acid is released by the
breakdown of the compound malvidin, found in red wine.
The scientists were able to determine from residues in
other jars that the ancient drink of Shedeh was made from grapes, rather than
pomegranates, as previously thought, Guasch-Jane said.
Ancient Egyptians inscribed wine jars with details of
where and when the wine was produced, who made it and the quality level, like a
modern wine label, the press conference heard.
A jar from Tutankhamen's tomb was marked, ``Year 5.
Wine of the House-of-Tutankhamen Ruler-of-the-Southern-on, l.p.h (in) the
Western River. By the chief Vintner Khaa.''
Earliest Proof
The earliest proof of deliberate wine production comes
from a tomb dating to 5400 BC in the Zagros mountains in present-day Iran, said
Patrick E. McGovern of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, who made the
discovery in 1994. Tutankhamen died about 1323 BC.
``Wine occurs 140 times in the Bible,'' McGovern told
the press conference today. ``Beer, none.''
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