Archaeologists Have Found A 3200-Year-Old Piece Of Cheese In An Ancient Egyptian Tomb
ICYMI, we here at AWOL are enormous cheese advocates. Huge! Brie, blue, camembert or cheddar, doesn’t matter – pair it with some biccies, and a cheeky glass of wine, and you’ve pretty much guaranteed our attendance.
We love it just as much as the next guy, but clearly not as much as Ptahmes, mayor of Ancient Memphis, Egypt who was buried cuddled up next to a big block of it.
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When archaeologists recently re-excavating the tomb, they found jars filled with a solid, white substance, which after being tested by scientists from the University of Catania and Cairo University, has been identified to be 3,200-year-old cheese, The New York Times reported.
Archaeologists excavating an ancient Egyptian tomb have found a 3,200-year-old piece of cheese https://t.co/pqIx4BHS2d
— The New York Times (@nytimes) 16 August 2018
What’s maybe most surprising is that it’s not the oldest known of its kind! Traces of dairy products more than 9,000 years old have been detected in pottery. It is, however, one of the oldest pieces of solid cheese found.
Either way, we probably won’t include it on any antipasto platters any time soon – but it is truly amazing what you can find on a visit to Egypt.
Check out Qantas flights and begin your next adventure.
(Lead image: Fynn Schmidt / Unsplash)
