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World’s ‘oldest brewery’ uncovered in Egypt
Archaeologists have unearthed what could be the world’s oldest-known brewery at Abydos, an ancient burial ground in Egypt.
As reported by Sky News, there were mutterings of the existence of the brewery among British archaeologists in the early 1900s, but none were able to pinpoint its location.
Fast forward to 2021 and eight large units, each spanning around 20m by 2.5m have been discovered in Abydos – an ancient burial ground in the desert.
According to Sky News, each unit included two rows of 40 pots, which were thought to be used to heat the mix of grains and water to make the beer.
Head of the US-Egyptian mission, Dr Matthew Adams, said the ancient brewery would have made around 22,400 litres of beer at a time.
The brewery is believed to date back to the time of King Narmer, who was known for his unification of Egypt at the start of the First Dynastic Period (3,150 BC-2,613 BC).
Adams believes the factory was built at Abydos to provide beer for rituals that were taking place inside funeral facilities for the kings of Egypt.
On his mission he found evidence that beer was used by ancient Egyptians in sacrificial rites.