Love Me Some Honey
Discovery of the Oldest Honey
Would you believe that if I say that honey is immortal? Would you believe if I say that if you hide a jar of honey and if no one (unless ants find it first) finds it, your great-multiplied-by-hundred granddaughter could still eat it?
Yes! Honey is eternal.
There are numerous pieces of evidence from hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt of around 2400 BCE, that beekeeping was much prevalent and people extolled honey for its nonperishable properties.
The oldest known records of honey collections are from around 8000 years ago found in ancient Araña cave paintings in Valencia, Spain.
Until recently, the ceramic jars containing the oldest honey was speculated to be that found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb (1342 BC E— 1325 BCE) and was found to be in a perfectly consumable state. Want to know the reason?
It was because honey is completely devoid of moisture/water content and hence not affected by microorganisms.
But shockingly, the oldest honey was found not in Egypt but the Republic of Georgia. An archaeological team found an ancient tomb of about 4300 BCE belonging to the Martkopi and Bedeni people of farming Araxes-Kura culture. The tomb belonged to a chief or a very important leader along with whom many others were buried.
As offerings to the dead, wild berries were proffered. During the time of discovery, after about 5500 years, the berries were still bright red and extremely well preserved. Upon examination, it was discovered that the berries were cured with honey.
So, I probably need not have to check for the expiry date behind my honey bottles anymore.
You, honey, are eternally mine.
