Wine Production and Consumption in Pharaonic Egypt

Abstract

Archaeobotanical and chemical evidence suggest that the grape was introduced into Egypt during the predynastic period. The earliest evidence for ancient Egyptian wine itself comes in the form of lexicographic and artifactual evidence dating to the very start of the historic period, the early dynastic period (beginning c. 3100 BC). The wide and varied range of evidence available for the investigation of the subject of Egyptian wine is discussed, and details of its production are presented. Despite evidence for the production and use of wine in Egypt from an early date, wine was apparently far less common than beer. Beer was brewed daily at the domestic level, whereas wine appears to have been produced in limited areas of Egypt for use by royalty, the upper classes and in the funerary requirements of the elite. Reasons for this pattern are suggested and a possible bias in the evidence is identified.