Sealed 5,000-Year-Old Wine Jars From Ancient Egypt Unearthed
Archaeologists excavating in Um Al-Qaab archaeological site in Abydos in Sohag Governorate, Egypt, have discovered hundreds of 5,000-year-old well-preserved wine jars and grave goods in a tomb belonging to an enigmatic woman known as Meret-Neith.
Scientists hope the find can shed new light on the identity of Meret-Neith of Dynasty 1. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said ancient inscriptions indicate that Meret-Neith had been in charge of central government offices, like the treasury, which lends credence to the theory that she played a historically significant role. Still, so little is known about her life and reign.
According to Dietrich Raue, Director of the German Archaeological Institute, “Meret-Neith had been the only woman with her own monumental tomb in Egypt’s first royal cemetery at Abydos and was probably the most powerful woman of her era.
Raue added that recent excavations have provided new information about this “unique woman and her era” and given rise to the speculation that Meret-Neith may have been the first female Queen in Ancient Egypt, thus predating Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th dynasty,” Ahram Online reports.
Her true identity, however, remains a mystery, he concluded.
E. Christiana Köhler, head of the mission, said that Meret-Neith’s monumental tomb complex in the desert of Abydos, which includes her own tomb as well as those of 41 courtiers and servants, was built of unfired mudbricks, mud, and timber.
Köhler added that through meticulous excavation methods and new archaeological technologies, the team demonstrated that the graves had been built in phases over a relatively long period.
“This observation, together with other evidence, radically challenges the oft-proposed but unproven idea of ritual human sacrifice in the 1st Dynasty,” she noted.
Several of the unearthed large wine jars had intact stoppers and contained the well-preserved remains of 5000-year-old wine.
Dr. Waziry added that ” well-preserved jars offer a unique glimpse into the past, providing a window into the culinary and cultural practices of a bygone era,” Luxor Times reports.
As the excavations continue, archaeologists may eventually learn more about the enigmatic history and identity of Queen Meret-Neith who may stand alone as the sole woman from the First Dynasty to have a royal tomb discovered in Abydos.
