「世界最古」のビール醸造所、古代エジプトの遺跡で発見

【カイロＡＦＰ＝時事】エジプト観光・考古省は13日、古代エジプトの墓所だった南部アビドスの遺跡で、「世界最古」とみられる大量生産型のビール醸造所が発掘されたと発表した。（写真はエジプト南部アビドス遺跡で発掘された、古代エジプトのビール醸造所の土器）
　同省はフェイスブックに、「ニューヨーク大学のマシュー・アダムズ博士とプリンストン大学のデボラ・ビシャック博士が率いるエジプトと米国の合同考古学調査団は、ソハーグ県北アビドスの調査で、世界最古とみられる大量生産型のビール醸造所を発掘した」と投稿。
　エジプト考古最高評議会のムスタファ・ワジリ事務局長の発言を引用して、醸造所が「ナルメル王時代に造られた可能性がある」との見解を示した。
　５０００年以上前にエジプトを統治したナルメル王は第１王朝の創始者で、上エジプトと下エジプトを統一した。ビール醸造所が存在することは２０世紀初頭に英国の考古学者が初めて確認したものの、正確な場所はこれまで特定されていなかった。今回エジプトと米国の合同調査団は醸造所の場所を改めて確認した上で発掘作業を行った。
　ワジリ氏によると、醸造所は「ビール生産設備」として利用された広い８区間で構成。各区間には約４０個の土器が２列に配置されていた。ビールの原料である穀物と水を交ぜたものは土器の中で過熱され、土器は「円形に取り囲む粘土製の道具」で一つ一つ垂直に固定されていた。
　古代エジプトのビール造りの証拠自体は目新しいものではなく、これまでの発見で生産が行われていたことは明らかになっていた。イスラエル考古学庁は２０１５年、テルアビブの建設現場で、エジプト人がビール造りに使用した約５０００年前の陶器の破片が発見されたと発表した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/02/15-12:07）

A high-production brewery believed to be the world's oldest has been uncovered by a team of archaeologists at the Abydos funerary site in southern Egypt, the tourism ministry said Saturday.
The joint Egyptian-American archaeological mission, headed by Dr. Matthew Adams of New York University, and Dr. Deborah Vischak of Princeton University, working in North Abydos, Sohag, has uncovered what is believed to be the oldest high-production brewery in the world, the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page.
It quoted the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziry, as saying the brewery likely dates back to the era of King Narmer.
Narmer, who ruled more than 5,000 years ago, founded the First Dynasty and unified Upper and Lower Egypt.
British archaeologists first discovered the existence of the brewery at the beginning of the 20th century but its location was never precisely determined, the statement said.
The joint Egyptian-American team was able to re-locate and uncover its contents, it said.
According to Waziry, the brewery consisted of eight large areas which were used as units for beer production.
Each sector contained about 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows.
A mixture of grains and water used for beer production was heated in the vats, with each basin held in place by levers made of clay placed vertically in the form of rings.
- Brew for 'royal rituals' -
Adams, who heads the joint archaeological mission, said studies have shown that beer was produced at a large scale, with about 22,400 litres made at a time.
The brewery may have been built in this place specifically to supply the royal rituals that were taking place inside the funeral facilities of the kings of Egypt, the statement quoted him as saying.
Evidence for the use of beer in sacrificial rites was found during excavations in these facilities, the statement said.
Evidence of beer-making in ancient Egypt is not new, and past discoveries have shed light on such production.
Fragments of pottery used by Egyptians to make beer and dating back 5,000 years were discovered on a building site in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced in 2015.
Abydos, where the latest discovery was unearthed, has yielded many treasures over the years and is famed for its temples, such as that of Seti I.
In 2000, a team of US archaeologists brought to light in Abydos the earliest known example of an ancient Egyptian solar barge, dating back to the first Pharaonic dynasty around 5,000 years ago.
Egypt has announced several major discoveries in recent months which it hopes will spur tourism, a sector which has suffered multiple blows -- from a 2011 uprising to the coronavirus pandemic.
Authorities had expected 15 million tourists to visit Egypt in 2020, compared to 13 million the previous year, but the virus has kept holidaymakers away.