17 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The world’s oldest wine discovered in liquid form was found in a Roman tomb in Spain

Archaeologists discovered an urn with a reddish liquid in a family mausoleum dating to the 1st century AD in the Carmona necropolis in Seville. An archaeochemical study identified this liquid as white wine, making it the oldest wine preserved in liquid form.

The Spanish urn was recovered in 2019 after a family having some work done on their house in Carmona stumbled across a sunken tomb on their property. This tomb, dated to the early 1st century AD, contained eight niches, six of which housed cinerary urns with cremated remains and various objects typical of Roman funeral rituals.

The tomb contained eight burial niches, six of which held urns made from limestone, sandstone, or glass and lead. Each urn contained the cremated bone remains from a single individual and two of the urns were inscribed with the names of the deceased: Hispanae and Senicio.

The urn in Niche 8 was what set this discovery apart. Inside an oval lead box with a flat-domed lid was this urn, a glass ossuary pot with M-shaped handles.  Inside it, five liters of a reddish liquid were discovered, presumed to be part of the original content along with the cremated bone remains.

Analysis by experts at the University of Córdoba has established that the ancient tawny liquid inside the urn is a local, sherry-like wine.

The liquid in the urn was reddish-brown because of the chemical reactions that have taken place in the 2,000 years since the white wine was poured in. Photo: Juan Manuel Román

“The wine turned out to be quite similar to wines from here in Andalucía: Montilla-Moriles; sherry-type wines from Jerez, and manzanilla from Sanlúcar,” said José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola, an organic chemist at the University of Córdoba who led the analysis of the wine.

By using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), scientists were able to identify the chemical components of the wine’s mineral salts, which included common elements found in old wines like potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Additionally, they identified polyphenols—compounds found in grapes and, consequently, in wine—using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry or HPLC-MS. Researchers were able to identify the liquid as white wine due to the presence of specific polyphenols and the mineral salt profile.

The remarkable longevity of the wine in its liquid state bears witness to the sophisticated Roman methods of preservation and storage, as well as the distinct climatic circumstances that permitted its preservation for nearly two millennia.

(a), (b) Funeral chamber. (c) Urn in niche 8. (d) Lead case containing the urn. (e) The reddish liquid contained in the urn. Image Credit: Daniel Cosano et al.

Before the discovery, which is reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the oldest wine preserved in a liquid state was the Speyer wine bottle, which was excavated from a Roman tomb near the German city of Speyer in 1867 and dated to about AD 325.

According to the researchers, the use of wine in Roman funeral rituals is well-known and documented. Therefore, once the cremated remains were deposited in it, the urn must have been filled with wine in a kind of libation ritual during the burial ceremony or as part of the funeral rite to help the deceased in their transition to a better world.

They conclude that the results obtained in this work strongly suggest that the reddish liquid in the ash urn was originally wine that decomposed over time and that it was about 2,000 years old, making it the oldest wine found to date.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104636

Cover Photo: Daniel Cosano et al.

Related Articles

Discovery of immense 4,000-year-old fortifications surrounding the Khaybar Oasis, one of the longest-known Oasis

10 January 2024

10 January 2024

Archaeologists have recently made a groundbreaking discovery in northwestern Arabia, unearthing immense fortifications that date back an astonishing 4,000 years....

Rare Indian Jital Coin Found in Elite Female “Princely” Grave Near Suzdal

3 September 2025

3 September 2025

Archaeologists working in the medieval necropolis of Gnezdilovo, near Suzdal — a historic town in today’s Vladimir Oblast, Russia —...

Archaeologists discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms, interiors of which covered with figural scenes unique to Christian art

7 April 2023

7 April 2023

Archaeologists of the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms made...

A section of one of Britain’s most important Roman roads unearthed under Old Kent Road in south-east London

15 November 2024

15 November 2024

Archaeologists have found a section of a Roman road under Old Kent Road in south-east London, part of one of...

Mesolithic stone mace head found during excavation of a site near Buckingham

4 April 2023

4 April 2023

Archaeologists discovered an attractive Mesolithic stone mace head while excavation of a site near Buckingham. The work was done by...

New study says earliest recorded kiss occurred 4500 years ago in Mesopotamia

18 May 2023

18 May 2023

The University of Copenhagen according to researchers, humanity’s earliest recorded kiss occurred around 4,500 years ago in the ancient Middle...

Bronze Age burial chamber discovered on Dartmoor, England

14 May 2024

14 May 2024

Excitement has been felt among archaeologists over the discovery of a Bronze Age burial chamber on Dartmoor, which may provide...

Stone reliefs describing the Persian-Greek wars were found in the ancient city of Daskyleion in northwestern Turkey

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

A relief depicting a fifth-century BC battle between the Greeks and Persians was discovered in the ancient city of Dascylium...

Archaeologists find sunken ancient Egyptian warship under Abu Qir Bay

26 July 2021

26 July 2021

According to a press release by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Egyptian French archaeological mission of the...

A 3200-year-old trepanned skull discovered in eastern Turkey’s Van province

12 November 2022

12 November 2022

A 3200-year-old trepanned skull was discovered in eastern Turkey’s Van province. In the prehistoric era, Anatolia served as a transitional...

Mystery ax discovered off the coast of Arendal of Norway

26 July 2021

26 July 2021

Researchers have discovered a find that could be a first for Norwegian archeology. A hollow ax, which researchers believe dates...

4,000-year-old Rock Art From A Previously Unknown Ancient Culture uncovered in Venezuela

4 July 2024

4 July 2024

An archaeological team in Venezuela has uncovered 20 ancient rock art sites in Canaima National Park in the southeastern part...

Sacred Hill of Moon God Sin “Sogmatar”

23 June 2022

23 June 2022

Sogmatar, Şanlıurfa is 53 kilometers from Harran. It is located in Yağmurlu village, where there are important springs in the...

Gold glass ‘Roma’ unearthed in the excavations of the Rome subway

7 February 2023

7 February 2023

A very rare and refined piece of gold glass representing ‘Roma’, the woman symbol of the Eternal City, has been...

A Mysterious Human Face Carved on Stone Dated to Bronze Age Discovered in Kazakhstan

21 July 2024

21 July 2024

Kazakhstan’s rich archaeological landscape continues to reveal fascinating details about ancient civilizations. Recent research in the Akmola, and Pavlodar revealed...