Egypt: The biggest brewery used by ancient Egyptians unearthed in the Nile Delta

A Polish archeological excavation team have unearthed the biggest brewery used by ancient Egyptians in the Nile Delta before the first monarch ever ruled the country, Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouq Hosny announced on Wednesday, March 22, according to Independent Online.

The site discovered in Tall al-Farkha in the northern province of Dakahliya on March 8 dates back to around 3 500BC, a period known as Naqada II D and C, the minister said.

The Polish archeologists, who have been working in the area since 1998, also discovered a cemetery with 33 graves belonging to middle and lower class ancient Egyptians. The head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced that the Polish mission also discovered a deposit of 65 items inside a small pottery jar dating back to the beginning of the 1st Dynasty.

The items are mainly hippopotamus ivory figurines shaped as humans, animals, boats and game pieces. Miniature stones and faience vases were also among the deposited items. The mission also found golden foils used in covering two wooden statues whose lengths ranged between 35 and 70cm, believed to have been the oldest of such a type. The statues, representing standing naked men, have not been recovered, except for eyes that were inlaid with Lapis Lazuli.

24 March, 2006