Teams of American and Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed which is believed to be oldest known beer factory in the world at one of the archaeological sites of ancient Egypt. The factory is believed belong to the time of King Narmer, who is widely known for his unification of ancient Egypt at the beginning of the First Dynastic Period (3150 B.C.- 2613 B.C.).
As per a report by The Guardian, the factory was found in Abydos which is an ancient burial ground in the desert west of the Nile river. Eight big units each 20 metres long and 2.5 metres wide. There are about 40 pottery basins in two rows in each units. The report stated that the basins were used to heat a mixture of grains and water to produce beer. The report further suggested that factory was apparently built in this area to provide royal rituals with beer as the archaeologists found evidences showing the use of beer in sacrificial rites of ancient Egyptians.
Earlier British archaeologists were the first to talk about the existence of this factory in the 1900s but the location was not able to determine the location of the factory.
Abydos is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the eighth nome in Upper Egypt. It is known for monuments which are dedicated to ancient Egypt’s God of underworld Osiris. In a bid to attract more tourists, Egypt has been making several ancient discoveries in the past few years.
Northeast India boasts of several local made beers. Click here to read about some of the popular rice beers of Northeast India.
(Feature image source: The Guardian)
