On October 1, a team of archaeologists from Egypt, Germany, and Austria announced the discovery of a 5,000-year-old wine cellar while excavating the tomb of Meret-Neith – a powerful woman from the First Dynasty, at the archaeological site of Um Al-Qaab in the city of Abydos, Sohag Governorate.
According to reports from Egypt, Mostafa Waziri, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, stated that the research team found several burial artifacts, including hundreds of large jars containing 5,000-year-old wine, some of which were still sealed and well-preserved.
Egypt discovers a 5,000-year-old wine cellar in Sohag Province. (Photo: Ahram Online)
Waziri revealed that inscriptions also indicated that Meret-Neith was in charge of central government agencies, such as the treasury. This further supports the hypothesis that this woman held an important position in ancient Egyptian governance.
Dietrich Raue, the Director of the German Archaeological Institute, added that Meret-Neith was the only woman to own a grand tomb in the earliest royal cemetery of Egypt in Abydos and was likely the most powerful woman of her time.
Raue further confirmed that recent excavations have provided new information about “this unique woman and her era” and have sparked speculation that Meret-Neith could be the first queen of ancient Egypt, even before Queen Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty. However, according to him, her true identity remains a mystery.
Meanwhile, the head of the Austrian archaeological team, E. Christiana Kohler, stated that the grand mortuary complex of Meret-Neith in the Abydos desert, which includes her main tomb and the tombs of 41 attendants and servants, was constructed using unbaked mud bricks, mud, and wood.
Many jars still sealed and well-preserved were found. (Photo: Ahram Online).
Kohler added that through meticulous excavation methods and new archaeological technology, the research team has demonstrated that the tombs were built in phases over a relatively long period.
