Archaeologists working in Egypt have unearthed the world’s oldest known beer factory, dating back about 5,000 years. – By Gerald Gekara.
The joint expendition by Egyptian and American teams discovered the brewery in Abydos, an ancient burial ground in the desert.
They found a number of units containing about 40 pots used to heat a mixture of grain and water to make beer.
The brewery is likely to date back to the era of King Narmer, according to the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
King Narmer ruled more than 5,000 years ago. He founded the First Dynasty and is considered to have unified Egypt.
The brewery consisted of eight large areas, each 20m (65ft) long and each containing about 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows, according to the secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziry.
