Ancient Egyptians used Wine Labels

Among the objects that were buried in the catacombs of Egyptian King Tutankhamen (commonly known as King Tut) were wine jars intended as funerary meals to ensure a pleasant afterlife.

Scientists have known for decades that the ancient Egyptians had an affinity for wine, but it has been unclear what variant of the beverage they favored, that is until now. The first extensive chemical analysis of a jar recovered from King Tut’s tomb indicates that the ruler preferred red – and they’ve got the labels to prove it.

These jars contain some of the world’s oldest wine labels. Not only are they among the most ancient wine labels on record, they are some of the most detailed. The Boy King’s wine labels displayed enough information to meet the present day requirements of some countries’ wine label laws. One label, for instance, read “Year 5, Wine of the House-of-Tutankhamen Ruler-of-the-Southern-on, l.p.h. in the Western River. By the chief Vinter Khaa”.

King Tut apparently not only wanted to ensure he would be able to drink wine in the afterlife, but he wanted to know exactly what he was drinking. Did he want to be able to pull out a particularly fine jar of wine for one of those very special occasions one experiences following death? We will probably never know …

According to the scientists that studied residue left in the jars, among the residue, they found the chemical that imparts color to red wine, malvidin-3-glucoside, according an article published at Scientific American. This discovery was not exactly shocking, as many ancient Egyptian tomb paintings depict red and purple grapes being pressed.

What we do know, aside from the fact that the boy Kings choice of Wine was red, is that labels have now proven their worth. Even the oldest of labels, can provide reason enough to understand how important good labeling is, and the Egyptians did a great job. With such specific labels, maybe the child King even had labels for other commodities besides wine, but we might not ever know.

For more information about this topic, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4379286.stm

Click Here to contact us for more information related to Coca-Cola Tests New Machine Powered by RFID Technology

Our Other Products: Direct Transfer Labels, Preprinted Barcode Labels, Thermal Transfer Labels, Barcode printer, Zebra barcode printer, Barcode ribbon, printer ribbon, Label Rewinder, Barcode Ribbon, Thermal Transfer Ribbon, Flexible Packaging Ribbon, Near Edge Ribbon

Leave a Reply