Unearthing the Secrets of a 2,200-Year-Old Wine That Could Rewrite History
Ever wonder if the rice wine your great-great-great… (let’s just say several millennia) ancestors sipped on was anything like the stuff we clink glasses with today? Well, turns out, it’s shockingly close. A research crew digging through 2,200-year-old tombs in China’s Shaanxi province stumbled upon about 10 fluid ounces of rice wine preserved in a Qin Dynasty bronze kettle — and get this, it wasn’t just some sour, undrinkable relic. Nope, it had amino acids, proteins, fats — basically the ancient equivalent of your favorite yellow rice wine. So, while we might joke about “old wine getting better with age,” these guys really put that to the test — and spoiler: it stayed pretty true to the recipe. Makes you wonder if those ancient folks were having a good time or just chilling with a bronze sword in their grave… Intrigued? LEARN MORE
A research team in China found 10 fluid ounces of preserved rice wine. Turns out, it’s pretty similar to what we drink today.
Li Yibo, Xinhua/ sci-news.comThe 2,200 bronze kettle and the wine found in it.
If it’s true wine gets better with age, the wine discovered by a team of researchers from the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology must be the absolute best.
Discovered while excavating 56 ancient tombs in China’s Shaanxi province, the 2,200 year-old wine was found in a bronze kettle that dates back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC). Because the kettle was sealed shut with plants and natural fibers, the liquor was able to be preserved.
“The liquor was milky white when we found it, and was a little muddy,” Said archaeologist Dr. Zhang Yanglizheng, one of the researchers involved in the excavation project.
Post Comment