sharing the past - Auckland Museum

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burial chamber brimful of
everything that might be
needed in the afterlife.
Amongst the sumptuously
carved and golden artefacts
were three-dozen plain pottery
clay jars. The wine that
had once filled them had
long since evaporated but
the meticulous labels detailed
the year and place of the
vintage, even the winemakers'
names and allowed
Egyptologists to establish the
length of Tutankhamun's reign to be nine years.
Most of the wine came from the estate of Aton,
previously owned by Akhnaten his heretical predecessor
who had caused dramatic disruption
among the priesthood by worshipping only one
god. Tutankhamun probably had a preference
for dry wines as only a few of the carefully
stored bottles held sweet wine. From the beautifully
painted walls of new kingdom tombs
archaeologists have been able to follow
Egyptian wine makers in action.
By chemically analysing the stains and residues in
ancient amphorae, brewing specialists have
attempted to recreate past wines. A combination
of archaeology and recipes inscribed on
cuneiform tablets allowed a brewing company in
San Francisco to reproduce an ancient Sumerian
beer. Beer was used extensively both ceremonially
and in daily life. From a hymn written in honour
of Ninkasi, the Sumerian goddess of brewing
comes a virtual instruction manual of steps to follow.
For example:
You are the one who soaks the malt in a jar…
You are the one who spreads the cooked mash…
The filtering vat…makes a pleasant sound…
When you pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat,
It is like the
onrush of the
Tigris and the
Euphrates
Auckland Museum
Te Papa Whakahiku
Sharing the Past
The grape harvest shown in this tomb scene follows the processes of picking and
crushing the fruit. The resulting juice pouring into a basin is carefully monitored by
another worker and will finally be fermented in the waiting wine jars.
This ancient style beer was served at a brewing
convention where the delegates drank it in the
proper Sumerian way; with long straws like the
gold and lapis lazuli straws found in lady Puabi's
tomb at Ur.
Above, wine jars in Tutankhamun's tomb. Most of the wine
came from the Delta area. The new season's wine was
stored in jars carefully sealed with wet clay caps and
inscribed with the year of vintage, the vineyard and their
quality. Left, label detail from one of Tutankhamun’s wine
jars, written in hieratic, a less formal script than hieroglyphics.
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