To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE


SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

"Drunken Philistines": Israeli Scientists Use Yeast from Ancient Beer to Recreate 5,000-Year-Old Drink

Emily Jones : May 22, 2019  CBN News

"These findings paint a portrait that supports the Biblical image of drunken Philistines." -Professor Aren Maeir

(Israel) — [CBN News] A team of Israeli scientists extracted yeast used to make beer in Biblical times and turned it into a modern drink with a 5,000-year-old taste. (Image: Team of researchers with new-old beer bottles produced in the labs/Credit: Yaniv Berman/courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority/via CBN News)

Scientists from Hebrew University, Israel's Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University examined the colonies of yeast specimen that settled in the pores of 5000-year-old pottery debris and successfully created beer with it.

Archaeologists gave the scientists shards of pottery that had been used as beer and mead (honey wine) jugs back in ancient times. To their surprise, the yeast found inside survived thousands of years and could safely be removed from the jars.

"We dug at Ramat Rachel, the largest Persian site in the Judaean kingdom, and found a large concentration of jugs with the letters J, H, D - Yahud - written on them. In a royal site like Ramat Rachel, it makes sense that alcohol would be consumed at the home of the Persian governor," explained Prof. Yuval Gadot from Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures.

These jars date back to the reign of Egyptian Pharaoh Narmer (roughly 3000 BC), to Aramean King Hazael (800 BC) and to Prophet Nehemiah (400 BC) who, according to the Bible, governed Judea under Persian rule.

Researchers then cleaned and sequenced the entire genetic code of each yeast specimen and turned them over Dr. Amir Szitenberg at the Dead Sea-Arava Science Center for analysis. Szitenberg discovered that these 5,000-year yeast cultures are similar to modern beer yeast and to those used in traditional African brews, such as Ethiopian honey wine.

Local Israeli beer expert Itai Gutman helped the scientists made the beer, which was given a "thumbs up" by international taste testers.

Dr. Yitzchak Paz of the Israel Antiquities Authority said the project is the first of its kind.

"We are talking about a real breakthrough here," he said. "This is the first time we succeeded in producing ancient alcohol from ancient yeast. In other words, from the original substances from which alcohol was produced. This has never been done before."

Prof. Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University said the research points back to the Bible.

"These findings paint a portrait that supports the Biblical image of drunken Philistines," he said.

Dr. Ronen Hazan from Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine said the project has important implications beyond a simple beverage.

"The greatest wonder here is that the yeast colonies survived within the vessel for thousands of years—just waiting to be excavated and grown. This ancient yeast allowed us to create beer that lets us know what ancient Philistine and Egyptian beer tasted like. By the way, the beer isn't bad. Aside from the gimmick of drinking beer from the time of King Pharaoh, this research is extremely important to the field of experimental archaeology—a field that seeks to reconstruct the past. Our research offers new tools to examine ancient methods, and enables us to taste the flavors of the past." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here







SHARE THIS ARTICLE Printer friendly version of this page

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News

An Important Message from Japan to the world about the WHO, Japan and the Next So-called 'Vaccine'

Rand Paul: Brave Marine Revealed that 15 US Agencies Knew COVID-19 Was Created in Lab in 2018; But They Kept It Secret from American Public (VIDEO)

Confirmed: Researchers Reveal COVID mRNA Vaccines Contain Component that Suppresses Immune Response and Stimulates Cancer Growth

Farmers, Truckers Warn California Emissions Mandates Will Cause 'Catastrophic' Supply Chain Crisis

Fed Court Overturns State Law Protecting Women's Sports from 'Transgender' Athletes

Furry Infestation: Middle School Students Walk Out in Protest after School Leaders Allow 'Furries' to Terrorize Them (VIDEO)

Biden's Education Secretary Vows to Shut Down the Largest Christian University in the US

US to Back Rafah Op in Exchange for Israel Dropping Major Iran Strike; Report

Schumer Succeeds in Killing Off Mayorkas Impeachment Trial before It Can Even Begin

California Town Tears Down Beloved Hillside Cross

Danielle Smith Again Defends Alberta's Coming Ban on Transgender Mutilation of Children

Detransitioners: We Were Pushed to Transition as Teens, Now We're 'Vindicated' By Study Showing Kids Grow Out of It

US Supreme Court Says Idaho Can Enforce Ban on Child 'Sex Changes' as Lawsuit Continues

How Bidenomics Shattered the American Dream of Homeownership

Bill Aims to Stop Illegal Aliens from Squatting in US Homes

Soros-Linked NGO Distributes Flyers in Mexico Telling Illegal Immigrants to 'Vote For Biden': Report

Long-Awaited Articles of Impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas Finally Arrive in Senate

Justices Gorsuch and Alito Highlight Biden Admin's Glaring Double Standard during J6 Hearing

Louisiana House Passes Bill That Requires All Schools Receiving State Funds to Display the Ten Commandments Inside Classrooms

NPR Suspends Editor Who Blew Whistle on Left-Wing Takeover of Newsroom



Search the Articles Archives

Keyword:  
Author:  
Words Posted On:  
Day Month Year



BCN Plus

Follow BCN on Twitter
Are You Praying for Our Government Leaders?
BCN Staff

Steve Shultz
Steve Shultz, Managing Editor
Founder and Owner


Aimee Herd
Aimee Herd, Editor


BCN Plus
Are You Praying for President Trump?
 
 

All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.


Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved


Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.

editor@breakingchristiannews.com