Science Archaeologists unearth world's oldest known beer factory in Egypt

https://news.yahoo.com/archaeologists-unearth-worlds-oldest-known-080329969.html

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American and Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed what could be the oldest known beer factory at one of the most prominent archaeological sites of ancient Egypt, a top antiquities official said on Saturday.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the factory was found in Abydos, an ancient burial ground located in the desert west of the Nile River, more than 280 miles south of Cairo.

He said the factory apparently dates back to the region of King Narmer, who is widely known for his unification of ancient Egypt at the beginning of the First Dynastic Period (3150BC-2613BC).


Archaeologists found eight huge units - each is 20 metres (about 65 feet) long and 2.5 metres (about 8 feet) wide. Each unit includes some 40 pottery basins in two rows, which had been used to heat up a mixture of grains and water to produce beer, Waziri said.

The joint mission is co-chaired by Dr Matthew Adams of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and Deborah Vischak, assistant professor of ancient Egyptian art history and archaeology at Princeton University.

Adams said the factory was apparently built in this area to provide royal rituals with beer, given that archaeologists found evidence showing the use of beer in sacrificial rites of ancient Egyptians.

https://sneed.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/HIvesQE4SY4QHAWTrYgo7w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTQ0MC42MjU-/https://sneed.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/PGFPrAd3D9m5o6Bz02WbdQ--~B/aD02NDA7dz0xMDI0O2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_telegraph_258/58b518c0c1e5c9f43f9cf1573efb52af
The remains of what may be the world's "oldest" high-production beer brewery - Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities/AFP via Getty Images
British archaeologists were the first to mention the existence of that factory in the early 1900s, but they could not determine its location, the antiquities ministry said.

With its vast cemeteries and temples from the earliest times of ancient Egypt, Abydos was known for monuments honouring Osiris, ancient Egypt's god of underworld and the deity responsible for judging souls in the afterlife.

https://sneed.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/xNEJiei3C1WvZGvtFo6HsQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTQ0MC42MjU-/https://sneed.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/bltxyhNToDpo1zjZUkIJNw--~B/aD02NDA7dz0xMDI0O2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_telegraph_258/b4380d7d7e1510fe7e99e5c40ff8c0e8
The remains of a row of vats used for beer fermentation - Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities/AFP via Getty Images
The necropolis had been used in every period of early Egyptian history, from the prehistoric age to Roman times.

Egypt has announced dozens of ancient discoveries in the past couple of years, in the hope of attracting more tourists.

The tourism industry has been reeling from the political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The sector was also dealt a further blow last year by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Yes it ends abruptly like that

 

[Governor Jeb Bush]

They needed all that beer for the stress of building the Giza pyramid complex

 

[AltisticRight]

They needed all that beer for the stress of building the Giza pyramid complex

The workers that built them were very well paid and got to accompany the pharaoh after their decease.

 

[Wowcoolusername]

They needed all that beer for the stress of building the Giza pyramid complex

The pyramids were built by aliens, dummy. Aliens, who used black and jew slave labor. Thats why both groups call themselves "the chosen people", because the aliens chose them to be slaves. Everyone knows that. Sheesh.

 

[Penis Drager]

I heard somewhere that beer was the reason agriculture was invented. I choose to believe it for no other reason than because I like beer.

 

[kcbbq]

Don't we have a word for a brewery? I can't remember what the word for a place beer is brewed, but I know it's not "beer factory".

 

[Marissa Moira]

Hard cider was used as payment to lay the foundation for the first electrical lines in america.

 

[XYZpdq]

iirc legends say that Ancient Egypt also invented the topless bar, as beer servers were usually women who had their titties hanging out
there's even more questionable legends that Ancient Egypt might have invented pro-wrasslin
apparently some depictions from the day of wrestling holds show moves that while visually interesting are questionable as legit grappling moves

 

[Strange Wilderness]

They needed all that beer for the stress of building the Giza pyramid complex

You ever see Mad Max? They made the film with pocket change and paid the extras in beer, same as the Egyptians building the pyramids. Pretty cool that beer is still a viable currency even today.

I heard somewhere that beer was the reason agriculture was invented. I choose to believe it for no other reason than because I like beer.

I've heard differing views on that. Some people say that, yes, beer was fundamental to the development of society because it was a replacement for water which was full of disease and contaminants, so beer which was sterile was used as a replacement. At the same time others argue that humans did drink water and barley was just one of the many crops humans domesticated because you could make bread from it as well as a good tasting drink that made you feel funny. Like everything in history it was probably a combination of both theories and a bunch of random coincidences.

Hard cider was used as payment to lay the foundation for the first electrical lines in america.

Rum was also used as currency in early colonial American/Caribbean history. Hamilton made his money in trading rum before he went to New York. I also heard that farms back in the day would have giant barrels full of cider that you could drink out of during the day.

 

[Penis Drager]

Some people say that, yes, beer was fundamental to the development of society because it was a replacement for water which was full of disease and contaminants, so beer which was sterile was used as a replacement.

You're getting your myths mixed up, bro. That one goes like "Brits were dumping their shit in the river so beer was the only safe thing to drink."
The one I'm referring to is about how people discovered how alcohol is made and they liked it so much that they invented agriculture solely to make more of it.

 

[Strange Wilderness]

You're getting your myths mixed up, bro. That one goes like "Brits were dumping their shit in the river so beer was the only safe thing to drink."
The one I'm referring to is about how people discovered how alcohol is made and they liked it so much that they invented agriculture solely to make more of it.

I think I said that in my post that one theory is humanity domesticated barley because it was useful not because the water was shit, while another theory is that humanity invented beer because the water was bad.

Though it would be pretty funny if the reason why civilization came to be wasn't because of religion, or writing, or environmental factors, or division of labor, but because humans wanted to get drunk.

 

[Penis Drager]

I think I said that in my post that one theory is humanity domesticated barley because it was useful not because the water was shit, while another theory is that humanity invented beer because the water was bad.

Though it would be pretty funny if the reason why civilization came to be wasn't because of religion, or writing, or environmental factors, or division of labor, but because humans wanted to get drunk.

All of human history is a joke. Just pick the funniest narrative and it's probably the right one.

 

[Reporterward]

Pretty neat. So this brewery was built five or six hundred years before the Pyramids were built.

 

[XYZpdq]

this reminds me, whatever happened to Zahi Hawass?
I recall he kinda dipped when Islamic Brotherhood won the elections but never really checked back on him after the Not-So-Islamic Military retook control

 

[kcbbq]

You're getting your myths mixed up, bro. That one goes like "Brits were dumping their shit in the river so beer was the only safe thing to drink."
The one I'm referring to is about how people discovered how alcohol is made and they liked it so much that they invented agriculture solely to make more of it.

No one is sure if it was beer or bread that created agriculture, but it's kind of a difference without a distinction. One would have led to the other really quickly.

Both are equally plausible, since there is really not much difference between the two, and it wouldn't have taken long to figure out that fermentation preserves food, even if it took tens of thousands of years to understand what actually caused fermentation of any kind.

 

[Oh Long Johnson]

 

[Snekposter]

Beer, beer, beer, tiddly beer, beer, beer.
A long time ago, way back in history,
when all there was to drink was nothing but cups of tea,
along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops,
and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops.

Hey!

He must have been an admiral or a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing!
Look at what he's done for us he's filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer.

The Drunken Rat, the Aiken Drum, the Towies Pub as well,
one thing you can be sure of its Charlie's beer they sell.
So all ye lads an' lasses at eleven o'clock you stop.
For five short seconds remember Charlie Mops!
One, two, three, four, five,

Hey!

He must have been an admiral or a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing!
Look at what he's done for us he's filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer.

A barrel of malt, a bushel of hops, you stir it around with a stick,
the kind of lubrication to make your engines tick.
Forty pints of wallop a day will keep away the quacks.
Its only eight pence haypenny and one and six in tax.
One, two, three, four, five,

Hey!

He must have been an admiral or a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing!
Look at what he's done for us he's filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer

The Lord bless Charlie Mops!

I'd gladly take my well-deserved puzzle pieces if this section still had them.

 

[Wowcoolusername]

Don't we have a word for a brewery? I can't remember what the word for a place beer is brewed, but I know it's not "beer factory".

I like "beer factory" better.

 

[ArthuriusMartyrius]

I heard somewhere that beer was the reason agriculture was invented. I choose to believe it for no other reason than because I like beer.

Unlikely because livestock domestication appeared a couple thousand years before the earliest evidence we have for grain cultivation. It makes sense too, since breeding wild boars or deer would've been a more relatively straightforward and simple process back in those times than successfully growing edible plants.

this reminds me, whatever happened to Zahi Hawass?
I recall he kinda dipped when Islamic Brotherhood won the elections but never really checked back on him after the Not-So-Islamic Military retook control

He was kind of becoming a laughing stock even before MB took over, his reputation took an especially serious hit in recent years.

 

[Penis Drager]

Unlikely because livestock domestication appeared a couple thousand years before the earliest evidence we have for grain cultivation. It makes sense too, since breeding wild boars or deer would've been a more relatively straightforward and simple process back in those times than successfully growing edible plants.

Fuck you. I like beer.