A 2,000-year-old Roman funerary urn discovered in southern Spain has revealed an astonishing secret as it contains the oldest wine ever found still in liquid form.
Unearthed during home renovations in Carmona in 2019, the contents of the urn were analyzed by scientists from the University of Cordoba.
Led by Professor Jose Rafael Ruiz Arrebola, the team found approximately 4.5 liters (1.2 gallons) of reddish liquid inside the urn, confirmed through chemical tests to be white wine.
Published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the study unveiled this extraordinary preservation, made possible by a hermetic seal.
Professor Ruiz Arrebola expressed astonishment at the discovery, noting, "When the archaeologists opened the urn we almost froze. It was very surprising."
He explained that wine typically evaporates quickly and is chemically unstable, making this discovery extraordinarily rare.
The discovery surpasses the previous record-holder for oldest liquid wine, the 1,700-year-old Speyer wine bottle from Germany, which has not been chemically verified.
The urn was one of six found in a mausoleum, along with a gold ring and other valuable artifacts, suggesting the family was wealthy.
However, cremation destroyed any DNA, making it impossible to determine if the six individuals were related.
Ruiz Arrebola now aims to identify which modern local wine is most similar to the ancient one, although this will require extensive testing.
