Oldest Liquid Wine Discovered in Carmona, Spain
In 2019, a family in Carmona, Spain, stumbled upon an ancient Roman tomb on their property, leading to the discovery of the oldest wine ever found in liquid form. This reddish-brown wine, estimated to be around 2,000 years old, offers significant insights into ancient Roman wine-making practices and funerary customs.

Discovery
The discovery was made when the family accidentally uncovered a sunken tomb. Inside, they found an urn containing the cremated remains of a Roman man and about five liters of reddish liquid. The urn, untouched for millennia, was preserved exceptionally well due to its rock-encased construction.

Analysis
Experts from the University of Córdoba analyzed the liquid and identified it as a local, sherry-like wine. Using advanced techniques such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), they determined the wine’s mineral salt profile and polyphenol content. These findings confirmed that the wine was white, as indicated by the absence of syringic acid, a compound found in decomposed red wine pigments.

Historical Context
Before this discovery, the oldest known wine was the Speyer wine bottle, found in Germany in 1867 and dated to about AD 325. However, the Speyer wine was not in its original liquid state, unlike the Carmona wine.

Significance
This find is remarkable for several reasons. It provides a rare opportunity to study the chemical composition of ancient wine directly. The context of its discovery also sheds light on Roman funerary practices, suggesting that wine played a significant role in their rituals.

The tomb contained multiple urns, including those with inscribed names of the deceased, such as Hispanae and Senicio. Among other artifacts, the urn with the wine also held a gold ring and possible remains of a cremation bed.

Expert Commentary
José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola, who led the analysis, praised the civic spirit of the family who reported the find. He noted the significance of the tomb’s untouched state, which allowed for a detailed study of its contents. Ruiz Arrebola’s team hopes their refined techniques will aid future research in archaeological chemistry.

While the wine was confirmed to be non-toxic, its proximity to cremated remains and its murky appearance due to bone fragments deterred any serious consideration of tasting it.

This extraordinary find not only marks the oldest liquid wine ever discovered but also opens a unique window into the world of ancient Roman culture and chemistry.