Egyptians may have been brewing beer 5,000 years ago
Israeli archaeologists have discovered small pieces of pottery used by ancient Egyptians in beer production about 5,000 years ago.
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| A fragment from a jar excavated in Tel Aviv. Photo: AFP |
The team discovered the remains of a brewery at a construction site in Tel Aviv, Israel, which dates back to about 5,000 years ago and belonged to an ancient Egyptian settlement.
"We found 17 small niches at the excavation site. They were used to store agricultural products during the Early Bronze Age (3500-3000 BC). Among the hundreds of pottery fragments characteristic of the local culture, some fragments came from large ceramic pots made in the Egyptian tradition and used to prepare beer," Diego Barkan, director of archaeological excavations at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), said yesterday in a Telegraph report.
The discovery also provides the first evidence that Egyptians were present in the area of present-day Tel Aviv. Previously, experts only knew that they were present in the Negev or the southern coastal plain.
Beer was an important part of the Egyptian diet, according to scientists. Pyramids builders also received beer in their daily rations, and beer jars were buried with the dead.
In 1990, an archaeological team explored the Egyptian royal beer factory. Here, they found traces of 10 production chambers and beer residue.
According to VnExpress
