The 2,000-year-old glass urn was originally unearthed five years ago in Carmona, a city in Andalusia
Archaeologists have unearthed the world’s oldest bottle of wine containing a man’s cremated bones.
The 2,000 year old glass urn was discovered five years ago in the historic city Carmona, Andalusia. Earlier this year they revealed they had found liquid inside the urn, which tests confirmed to be wine. Dating back to the fourth century, this wine is one of the oldest ever found. The urn’s contents reflect the gender divisions in Roman society’s funerary practices, reports The Express.
Juan Manuel Román, Carmona’s municipal archaeologist said: “At first we were very surprised that liquid was preserved in one of the urns,” The surprises, however, did not end there and along with a gold ring, the wine also contained a man’s cremated bones. This has provided more insight into funerary rituals during the Roman period in Spain. Researchers believe it’s “no coincidence” that the remains are male, as ancient Romans forbade women from drinking wine, deeming it a “man’s drink”.
Another urn from the tomb held a woman’s remains but no traces of wine. Instead, it contained three amber jewels, a patchouli-scented perfume bottle, and silk fabric remnants. These artefacts were placed in the tomb according to Roman beliefs about what the deceased would need for their journey to the afterlife. They believed items taken with them when they pass away could be used by them after they die.
It is generally thought that there were five stages to a Roman funeral but there are no direct descriptions of the ritual. The five parts consisted of a procession, cremation and burial, eulogy, feast, and commemoration. The Romans believed it was very important to conduct proper ceremonies and precise burial to avoid having a malicious spirit rising from the underworld.
The Mirror told earlier how Life has imitated art after a 2,000 year-old old secret tomb filled with bones was discovered under a site used for an Indiana Jones film. A team of archaeologists, led by Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman from the American Center of Research, discovered the tomb in Petra, Jordan.
One of the seven modern wonders of the world, the location is recognised by fans of the intrepid explorer as the fictional final resting place of the Holy Grail from the third film. The team found a tomb containing at least 12 complete skeletons which, incredibly, date back more than 2,000 years. The find was made after 20 years of speculation suggesting a secret chamber was below people’s feet, CNN reported.
Josh Gates, host of Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown, said: “This is a hugely rare discovery. In the two centuries Petra has been investigated by archaeologists, nothing like this has been found before. Even in front of one of the most famous buildings in the world … there are still huge discoveries to be made.”
