Oldest wine ever discovered in liquid form found in untouched Roman tomb

A Roman funerary urn discovered in southern Spain contains the oldest wine ever found still in liquid form. The urn, discovered during home renovations in 2019, was analyzed by scientists from the University of Cordoba. It was found to contain cremated remains, burned ivory, and around 4.5 liters of reddish liquid. Chemical analysis confirmed that the liquid was wine, which is surprising as wine typically evaporates quickly. The wine was preserved by a hermetic seal. The liquid was identified as white wine and had a similar mineral salt composition to wines produced in the region today. The discovery dethrones the current record holder for oldest wine in liquid form. The funerary urn also contained valuable artifacts suggesting the family who built it was of considerable wealth. Little is known about their lives due to DNA destruction from cremation. Researchers plan to determine which modern-day local wine the ancient wine was most similar to.