W960

W960

Pottery neck of wine jar with hieratic inscription. It is in 3 pieces. 27.5cm long and is from Amarna.

The inscription states that the wine came from a vineyard in the Western River and was bottled in the 12th year of the reign of the king. 

The Western River is thought to be the Canopic branch of the Nile in the western Delta. The best wine came from the Delta region. An analysis of wine from the tomb of Tutankhamun showed that there was both red and white wine (Guasch et. Al 2007; Jané 2013).

Wine making in ancient Egypt dates back to at least the Early Dynastic Period. According to Plutarch it was the god Osiris who first taught the Egyptians to drink wine, which is perhaps one reason why it is associated with rebirth (suggested by depictions of grape harvests on tomb walls). Additionally, wine is associated with the flooding of the Nile (also a symbol of annual rebirth) as the grape harvest and annual flooding combine. 

Most of the fragments of wine jars from Amarna were found in the Central Palace, though there a number of fragments also come from the Workmen’s Village. It has been suggested that the wine labels found in the Workmen’s Village show that vessels were reused for other purposes. Wine labels are important for dating the site of Amarna. Year 17 is the latest attested date of label.

This seems to read:

HAt-sp 12                                              year 12

irp (nDm) n pr…..                                 wine (sweet) of the house [i.e. estate]….

n itrw imnty Hri KAmw             of the Western River,vineyard supervisor….

 

Further Reading

Guasch, M.R., Ibern, M., Andrés, C. and Lamuela, R.M. 2007. Scientific Research on Archaeological Residues from Ancient Egyptian Wines, In J.-C. Goyon, C. Gardin, (eds.), Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists – Actes du Neuvième Congrès International des Égyptologues. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 150, 851–855. 

Jané, M.R.G. 2013. Three wines for Tutankhamun’s transfiguration. Ancient Egypt April/May 2013, 26–31.

Murray, M.A. 2000. Viticulture and Wine Production in Nicholson, P.T. and Shaw, I. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, Cambridge University Press. 

Wahlberg, E-L. 2012. The Wine Jars Speak. A Text Study. University of Uppsala (online- http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:528049/FULLTEXT01.pdf).