Earliest Evidence of 'Barley' Beer Found From 2500-Yr-Old Clay Cups, 'Ground Breaking' Technique Used

Throughout history, civilizations have left evidence of the lifestyle they lived and the food they consumed. Similarly, there was a demand for ancient alcoholic drinks amongst people as well. According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, researchers tested some early chemical traces from clay drinking vessels to find the existence of beer from ancient times.

The clay drinking vessels or the ceramic cups were unearthed in northern Iraq's Khani Masi. It is believed that the cups are almost 2,500 years old and it contains the oldest evidence of beer brewed in ancient Mesopotamia. The discovery was made possible after the experts studied the chemical signature of fermentation as well as that of barley in the clay vessels. "Putting those together is the interpretation that this is barley beer," Claudia Glatz, a senior lecturer in archaeology at the University of Glasgow and a co-author of the study, revealed in the journal.

The study was helmed by Elsa Perruchini, a PhD archaeology student and the lead author of the study. Perruchini called the discovery "groundbreaking" as she implemented a new technique to detect the residues of beer while trying to avoid getting it contaminated with modern compounds. "The results of this analysis present a significant advance in the study of ancient Near Eastern beer brewing and consumption practices," the study shared. "They also provide us with unprecedented new insights into the nature of Babylonian cultural expansion into and beyond a politically and economically strategic, yet archaeologically little-known, highland-lowland borderland along the Sirwan/Diyala River."

It was also disclosed that there has been previous evidence of beer being consumed in the ancient Near East region with the discovery of texts and iconographic sources. The excavation site in Khani Masi dates back to the Bronze Age as experts dived deep to find the cultural significance of beer consumption in Mesopotamian society and its popularity during the height of the Babylonian Empire, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

One of the best examples of beer's popularity was found in a Sumerian Hymn to the beer goddess, Ninkasi that dates from approximately 1800 B.C. The recipe of the ancient brew was recorded in the form of a poem where the goddess was praised for soaking malt in a jar and then spreading mash on red mats. A Mesopotamian poem titled Epic of Gilgamesh which is also one of the oldest surviving works of literature, narrated tales about a wild man named Enkidu. Enkidu was born and brought up in the forest where he drank seven jugs of beer and chose to join the civilizational became the mythical Mesopotamian figure's sidekick.

"Beer is a quintessential Mesopotamian foodstuff," Glatz told the magazine. "Everyone drank it but it also has a social significance in ritual practices. It really defines Mesopotamian identities in many ways." Perruchini analyzed the ceramic samples and the distinct compounds in them using gas chromatography. This revolutionary technique allowed Perruchini and her team to separate various compounds found in the samples. "They were really able to get a gold mine of information out of these pots," Mara Horowitz, an archaeology lecturer at Purchase College at the State University of New York who was not involved in the study, mentioned. "It looks like they have done what we’ve all been dreaming about doing."