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Scientists Uncover 3,700-Year-Old Wine Cellar

Posted by samzenpus on from the break-out-the-good-stuff dept.

Taco Cowboy writes in with a link about the remnants of some well-aged wine recently uncovered in Israel. "Scientists have uncovered a 3,700-year-old wine cellar in the ruins of a Canaanite palace in Israel, chemical analysis from the samples from the ceramic jars suggest they held a luxurious beverage that was evidently reserved for banquets. The good stuff contains a blend of ingredients that may have included honey, mint, cedar, tree resins and cinnamon bark. The discovery confirms how sophisticated wines were at that time, something suggested only by ancient texts. The wine cellar was found this summer in palace ruins near the modern town of Nahariya in northern Israel. Researchers found 40 ceramic jars, each big enough to hold about 13 gallons, in a single room. There may be more wine stored elsewhere, but the amount found so far wouldn't be enough to supply the local population, which is why the researchers believe it was reserved for palace use. The unmarked jars are all similar as if made by the same potter. Chemical analysis indicates that the jars held red wine and possibly white wine. There was no liquid left; analyses were done on residues removed from the jars. An expert in ancient winemaking said the discovery 'sheds important new light' on the development of winemaking in ancient Canaan, from which it later spread to Egypt and across the Mediterranean."

5 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. ... a short while later ... by DavidClarkeHR · · Score: 5, Funny

    Shortly after discovering a 3,700 year old wine cellar, scientists declare:
    Ish totally ... not *hic* full of ... wine ... s'all empties, i sh-wear.

    --
    - Nec Impar Pluribus, or so I'm told.
    1. Re:... a short while later ... by mjwx · · Score: 5, Funny

      Shortly after discovering a 3,700 year old wine cellar

      Scientists discover the demented writings of a 3,700 year old wine snob.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  2. Re:This was news two weeks ago by spmkk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's the point of posting it now?

    So that those of us who go to "mainstream" websites for geopolitical news rather than scouring them for science/tech developments, and therefore might have missed this (as I did), can learn about it?

  3. Sophisticated? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Do you add 'honey, mint, cedar, tree resins and cinnamon bark' to your wine because your technique is "sophisticated" or because you are trying to restore some semblance of drinkability to the result of a really dreadful fermentation process?

  4. Re:This was news two weeks ago by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's 3700 years old. What difference does two weeks make, fer cryin' out loud?