Study: Herbal wine dates back to 3,100 B.C

Herbal wine dates back to the era of Egyptian Pharoas 5,100 years ago, centuries before man is known to have used herbal remedies in alcoholic drinks. A wine jar found in the tomb of a Pharoah Abydos stands testimony to this fact.

Remnants of medicinal herbs found on the jar are a tell-tale proof to prove that ancient Egyptians used herbs in wine. This, Patrick McGovern of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology said had been ambiguously referred to in later papyrus documents.

The researchers stumbled upon this find while carrying out tests on 700 jars. One of these jars buried with Scorpion I in the tomb around 3100 B.C contained tree resin, a preservative, and other chemicals that make up various herbs.

McGovern was quoted as saying, "There were a lot of additives in this wine, and it fits very well with the later Egyptian pharmacology texts, the medical papyri that describe similar kinds of alcoholic beverages with herbs in them."

"So the assumption is that, although we're 1500 years before the earliest medical papyrus, in fact we're looking at medicinal wine," he said.

Texts on ancient Egyptian medical procedures and practices are known as Medical papyri. These texts testify that resins and herbs like coriander, balm, mint, sage, senna, germander, savory and thyme were mixed with wine, beer and water as pain relievers, laxatives, aphrodisiacs, or diuretics,.