The Oldest Honey in the World
Archaeological Discoveries in Georgia
Georgia holds the record for the world's longest history of beekeeping. To date, the oldest remnants of honey have been found in Georgia. Archaeologists discovered traces of honey on the inner surfaces of clay vessels unearthed in an ancient tomb dating back approximately 5,500 years.
The honey samples found in Georgia are 2,000 years older than the honey discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt.
The honey-containing vessels and other artifacts were discovered in a tomb believed to belong to a woman, unearthed in 2003 during the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
Excavations took place at the Kodiani Kurgan (a burial mound) near the village of Sakire in Borjomi. The 5,500-year-old mound revealed the skeleton of a noblewoman along with bones and vessels containing honey.
The contents of the vessels were analyzed in the Palynological Laboratory of the Georgian National Museum. Laboratory studies confirmed that the three vessels contained high-quality honey with different types of flower pollen. One was linden honey, another meadow honey, and the third a mix of pollen from various plants. The flowers for this third type of honey grew in courtyards and along roads, indicating that the beehives were located near residential homes.
Links:
https://goldbee.ge
https://georgianjournal.ge
Georgia holds the record for the world's longest history of beekeeping. To date, the oldest remnants of honey have been found in Georgia. Archaeologists discovered traces of honey on the inner surfaces of clay vessels unearthed in an ancient tomb dating back approximately 5,500 years.
The honey samples found in Georgia are 2,000 years older than the honey discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt.
The honey-containing vessels and other artifacts were discovered in a tomb believed to belong to a woman, unearthed in 2003 during the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
Excavations took place at the Kodiani Kurgan (a burial mound) near the village of Sakire in Borjomi. The 5,500-year-old mound revealed the skeleton of a noblewoman along with bones and vessels containing honey.
The contents of the vessels were analyzed in the Palynological Laboratory of the Georgian National Museum. Laboratory studies confirmed that the three vessels contained high-quality honey with different types of flower pollen. One was linden honey, another meadow honey, and the third a mix of pollen from various plants. The flowers for this third type of honey grew in courtyards and along roads, indicating that the beehives were located near residential homes.
Links:
https://goldbee.ge
https://georgianjournal.ge
