This archeological finding redefines “full-bodied” wine.
The oldest vintage is people? The oldest wine ever discovered in liquid form harbored an unlikely ingredient — cremated human remains, according to a study published recently in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
“This was the first time something like this had been discovered,” José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola, an organic chemist at the University of Córdoba who analyzed this ghoulish vintage, told All That’s Interesting.
The macabre-net sauvignon was discovered by accident in 2019 after a family happened across a 2,000-year-old sunken Roman tomb while renovating their home in Carmona, Spain.
Among other artifacts, this subterranean treasure trove contained a funerary urn with “cremated bone remains,” a gold ring decorated after the two-headed Roman deity Janus, and nearly five liters of reddish-brown liquid.
“We did not expect it to contain liquid, much less the quanтιтy found,” said Arrebola while discussing the holy grail-esque discovery. “Until now, all the funerary urns found contained only cremated bone remains and various objects related to funerary offerings.”
Subsequent PH tests revealed that the mystery substance was actually wine.
“We looked for biomarkers, which are chemical compounds that unequivocally tell you what a particular substance is,” the chemist told the Guardian while describing his method of liquor forensics.
His team specifically deduced this by identifying seven wine polyphenols — naturally occurring compounds found in fruits, vegetables, beverages and other foodstuffs — and comparing these chemicals to those from wines from that region of Andalucía.
