terclim by ICS banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Congress on Grapevine and Wine Sciences 9 2ICGWS-2023 9 Investigating the Ancient Egyptian wines: The wine jars database

Investigating the Ancient Egyptian wines: The wine jars database

Abstract

In Ancient Egypt, wine was a luxury product consumed mainly by the upper classes and the royal family and offered to gods in daily religious rituals in the temples.

Since the Predynastic (4000-3100 BC) period, wine jars were placed in tombs as funerary offerings. From the Old Kingdom (2680-2160 BC) to the Greco-Roman (332 BC-395 AD) period, viticulture and winemaking scenes were depicted on the private tombs’ walls. During the New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC), wine jars were inscribed to indicate: vintage year, product, quality, provenance, property and winemaker’s name and title. The inscriptions reveal that the ancient Egyptians considered this information relevant and necessary to be able to distinguish between wines.

Interdisciplinary research on Ancient Egyptian wines included several studies and projects: [1,2] the study of the colour of wine and the origin of the Shedeh, the corpus of viticulture and winemaking scenes in the ancient Egyptian tombs and the archaeological map with the location, among others.

To explore how the Egyptian wines were made, the wine jars typology and production is investigated, and the wine inscriptions to know the ancient winemaking procedures. Moreover, through the study of the main concentration of the Egyptian wine jars from the Pre-dynastic to the New Kingdom period and the research in the museums archives (Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Ahsmolean in Oxford, British Museum in London, Louvre in Paris), the database of the wine jars and wine inscriptions has been created.

The Ancient Egyptian wine jars database and the archaeological map of Egypt with the location of each item will be presented, and it will available in the dedicated website [www.wineofancientegypt.com].

To transfer the knowledge and disseminate the scientific research results, we are also developing a virtual exhibition on the Ancient Egyptian wine culture.

References:

1)  Guasch-Jané M.R. (2016) An Interdisciplinary Study on the Ancient Egyptian Wines: The Egywine Project. M Ioannides, et al. (eds.) Proceedings of the 6th International Conference EUROMED 2016, Nicosia (Cyprus) October 31-November 5 2016, Digital Heritage. Progress in Cultural Heritage: Documentation, Preservation and Protection, EuroMed 2016, Part I, LNCS 10058: 737–748, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-48496-9_59

2)  Guasch-Jané M.R. (2019) Grape Archaeology and Ancient DNA Sequencing. In: Cantu D., Walker M. (eds) The Grape Genome. Compendium of Plant Genomes. Springer, Cham: 57-75, DOI 10.1007/978-3-030-18601-2_4

DOI:

Publication date: October 5, 2023

Issue: ICGWS 2023

Type: Article

Authors

Guasch-Jané M.R.1*, Socorregut-Domènech J.2

1Mondes pharaoniques (UMR 8167‘Orient et Méditerranée’), Sorbonne University
2Prehistory and Archaeology department, University of Barcelona

Contact the author*

Keywords

Ancient Egypt, archaeological map, database, winemaking, wine inscriptions, wine jars

Tags

2ICGWS | ICGWS | ICGWS 2023 | IVES Conference Series

Citation

Related articles…

Phenolic composition and chromatic characteristics of blends of cv. Tempranillo wines from vines grown with different viticultural techniques in a semi-arid area

The quality and color stability of red wines are directly related to content and distribution of phenolic compounds. However, the climate change produces the asynchrony between the dates of technological and maturity of grapes. The crop-forcing technique (CF) restores the coupling between phenolic and technological ripeness while limits vineyard yields. Blending of wines is frequently used to equilibriate composition of wines and to increase their stability, color and quality. The aim of the present work is to study the phenolic composition and color of wine blends made with FW (wines from vines subjected to CF) and CW (wines for vines under the usual cultivation practices).

Effect of two water deficit regimes on the agronomic response of 12 grapevine varieties cultivated in a semi-arid climate

The Mediterranean basin is one of the most vulnerable regions to Climate Change effects. According to unanimous forecasts, the vineyards of Castilla-La Mancha will be among the most adversely affected by rising temperatures and water scarcity during the vine’s vegetative period. One potential strategy to mitigate the negative impacts of these changes involves the identification of grapevine varieties with superior water use efficiency, while ensuring satisfactory yields and grape quality.

Impact of toasting and botanical origin on oak wood (Q. sp.) volatilome using untargeted GCxGC-ToFMS analysis

Many works have been carried out to identify the key aroma volatile compounds of oak wood (e.g., whisky-lactone, furfural, maltol, eugenol, guaiacol, vanillin) using conventional gas chromatography coupled with olfactometry and mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS). Inspired by recent untargeted approaches in the field of food “omics”, this work aims to extend our knowledge on the impact of cooperage process on the volatile composition of oak wood using two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-ToFMS).

Grape pomace, an active ingredient at the intestinal level: Updated evidence

Grape pomace (GP) is a winemaking by-product particularly rich in (poly)phenols and dietary fiber, which are the main active compounds responsible for its health-promoting effects. GP-derived products have been proposed to manage cardiovascular risk factors, including endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and obesity. Studies on the potential impact of GP on gut health are much more recent. However, it is suggested that, to some extent, this activity of GP as a cardiometabolic health-promoting ingredient would begin in the gastrointestinal tract as GP components (i.e., (poly)phenols and fiber) undergo extensive catabolism, mainly by the action of the intestinal microbiota, that gives rise to low-molecular-weight bioactive compounds that can be absorbed and utilized by the body.

Photoprotective extracts from agri-food waste to prevent the effect of light in rosé wines 

Light is responsible for adverse reactions in wine including the formation of unpleasant flavors, loss of vitamins or photodegradation of anthocyanins. Among them, the riboflavin degradation leads to the formation of undesirable volatile compounds, known as light-struck taste. These photo-chemical reactions could be avoided by simply using opaque packaging. However, most rosé wines are kept in transparent bottles due to different commercial reasons. Some agri-food waste extracts have been studied for their photoprotective action which turn to be highly correlated with phenolic content [1].