Ancient Roman bottle with wine found in 4th-century AD Roman nobleman’s tomb in Germany.
The bottle was discovered during an excavation within a 4th-century AD Roman nobleman’s tomb. The tomb contained two sarcophagi, one holding the body of a man and the other one of a woman. it is thought that the man was a Roman legionnaire and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.
Of the six glass bottles in the woman’s sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man’s sarcophagus, only one still contained a liquid. There is a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to rosin above. While it has lost its ethanol content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been wine. The wine, likely produced in the same region, was mixed with herbs.
The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick olive oil, added to the bottle to seal the wine off from air, along with a hot wax seal.
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