I’ve never liked beer. I have no idea why. The people in my life who have liked it (some alcoholics, some not), all have one thing in common: they can wax rhapsodic about beer. It’s as if it’s the elixir of the Gods or something. It’s lost on me.
I do like the smell of beer, though. Go figure. I wouldn’t mind working in a brewery.
So when I stumbled across an article on bbc.com entitled, “Abydos beer factory: Ancient large-scale brewery discovered in Egypt,” I instantly imagined myself surrounded by pyramids that were infused with the aroma of beer. That would be surreal.
This brewery, which they believe to be more than 5000 years old, contained 8 rooms, each 65 feet long, and each containing 40 earthenware pots that were used to heat grain and water. It is estimated that this brewery could make 5000 gallons of beer at a time. It is strange to imagine ancient Egyptians engaged in what is essentially factory work, but there you have it.
It’s even stranger to imagine a factory of this size just sitting there, complete with vats, for centuries, as the sand crept in. How do you forget about an entire brewery? Why would you? Archeology fascinates me.
The funny thing is that Abydos is, according to archeologists, an ancient burial ground and temple complex. Why have a brewery in a burial ground? Apparently beer was used in burial rites for Egyptian royals and/or sacrificial rites. I sure do hope the slaves were allowed to get good and drunk before being buried with their masters. They surely would have earned it.
Cheers.
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The View from a Drawbridge 