slimvictor
Bluelight Crew
Possibly accounting for concurrent technicolour dreamcoat fad
The people of ancient Canaan were far more bibulous than anyone has previously suspected. Boffins have dug up 3,700-year-old wine jugs from an ancient cellar in a large Canaanite city called Tel Kabri, which is not far from the vineyards of modern Israel.
The wine was flavoured with honey, mint, cinnamon bark, juniper berries and even mysterious "psychotropic resins", which might explain why people in the biblical era spent so much time spouting prophesies and wearing technicolor dreamcoats.
The wine cellar is the oldest ever found in the near east and contained 40 jars of potent, sweet wine. Some fifty litres were stored in the basement, which was found beneath an ancient palace.
Sadly, the biblical booze leaked out a long time ago and all that's left were traces of its ingredient and tell tale signs of tartaric and syringic acid, which are both key constituents of wine. The recipe is similar to "medicinal" wines enjoyed in Europe two millennia ago, although that familar old excuse for drinking is probably as old as civilisation itself.
"This is a hugely significant discovery. It's a wine cellar that, to our knowledge, is largely unmatched in age and size," said Eric Cline, chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of at The George Washington University.
The consistency of the recipe impressed the boffins, for the wine was no Lambrini. It is likely that this was a top-end tipple, intended for consumption by people at the very apex of society.
cont at
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/22/archeologists_dig_up_3700_year_old_psychedelic_plonk/
The people of ancient Canaan were far more bibulous than anyone has previously suspected. Boffins have dug up 3,700-year-old wine jugs from an ancient cellar in a large Canaanite city called Tel Kabri, which is not far from the vineyards of modern Israel.
The wine was flavoured with honey, mint, cinnamon bark, juniper berries and even mysterious "psychotropic resins", which might explain why people in the biblical era spent so much time spouting prophesies and wearing technicolor dreamcoats.
The wine cellar is the oldest ever found in the near east and contained 40 jars of potent, sweet wine. Some fifty litres were stored in the basement, which was found beneath an ancient palace.
Sadly, the biblical booze leaked out a long time ago and all that's left were traces of its ingredient and tell tale signs of tartaric and syringic acid, which are both key constituents of wine. The recipe is similar to "medicinal" wines enjoyed in Europe two millennia ago, although that familar old excuse for drinking is probably as old as civilisation itself.
"This is a hugely significant discovery. It's a wine cellar that, to our knowledge, is largely unmatched in age and size," said Eric Cline, chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of at The George Washington University.
The consistency of the recipe impressed the boffins, for the wine was no Lambrini. It is likely that this was a top-end tipple, intended for consumption by people at the very apex of society.
cont at
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/22/archeologists_dig_up_3700_year_old_psychedelic_plonk/
