A wine discovered in a Roman necropolis at Carmona, near Seville, Spain, has been confirmed as the oldest surviving wine in the world. This glass urn, unearthed during excavations in 2019, has now been dated to the first century AD, which makes it over 300 years older than the previously recognized oldest wine, the Speyer bottle, dated to around AD 325-350.
The Speyer bottle was found in a Roman tomb in Germany in 1867 and has always held significant archaeological value due to its preservation. It remains sealed and has never been opened, with analyses revealing that it contains herb-infused wine preserved under a layer of olive oil. This find had been the oldest known until the Carmona urn’s dating established it as an ancient Roman burial with contents that may even have been made during the life of Christ.
The Carmona urn contains five liters of wine mixed with cremated bone fragments and a gold ring, and has been identified as having a composition similar to modern wines from regions like Jerez and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The wine in the urn appears darker in color than that in the Speyer bottle but was initially a white wine.
Both finds have opened a window into ancient wine preservation practices, which typically favored ceramic storage over glass. The discovery in Carmona was a fortuitous accident during home renovations, confirming that significant archaeological treasures can arise unexpectedly.
Given the age of the Carmona urn, it seems unlikely that any older wine will be discovered intact, but it has certainly piqued interest in the consumption habits of ancient cultures, including the fact that wine was not generally consumed by women in Roman times.
The excitement surrounding these finds is not just about their age but also about what they can reveal about the social customs and practices of past civilizations, particularly in the realm of wine.