The tomb complex of Queen Meret-Neith in Abydos.
In a remarkable new discovery, archaeologists uncovered a collection of wine jars dating back 5,000 years within an ancient Egyptian tomb associated with the presumed 'first female pharaoh of Egypt.' A German-Austrian team that made the discovery, led by archaeologist Christiana Kohler from the University of Vienna, is investigating the tomb of Queen Meret-Neith in Abydos, Egypt. She was the most powerful woman in the period around 3,000 BC.
Recent excavations prove her special historical significance: the researchers found 5,000-year-old wine and other grave goods. This fuels speculation that Meret-Neith was the first pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the predecessor of the later Queen Hatshepsut.
Queen Meret-Neith was the only woman to have her own monumental tomb in Egypt's first royal cemetery at Abydos. She was likely the most powerful woman of her time, and researchers today speculate that she may have been the first female pharaoh of ancient Egypt, preceding Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th dynasty. Her true identity remains a mystery, but new excavations are shedding light on this unique woman and her time.
5000-year-old wine jars in the tomb of Queen Meret-Neith in Abydos during the excavation. The jars are in their original context and some of them are still sealed.
As per a news release, the archaeological team found evidence of a huge amount of grave goods, including hundreds of large wine jars. Some of them were very well preserved and even still sealed in their original state. They contained the remains of 5,000-year-old wine. In addition, inscriptions testify that Queen Meret-Neith was responsible for central government offices such as the Treasury, which supports the idea of her special historical significance.
Meret-Neith's monumental tomb complex in the Abydos desert, which includes the tombs of 41 courtiers and servants in addition to her own burial chamber, was built of unbaked mud bricks, clay, and wood. Thanks to careful excavation methods and various new archaeological technologies, the team was able to show that the tombs were built in several construction phases and over a relatively long period of time. This observation, together with other evidence, radically challenges the idea of a ritual human sacrifice as part of the royal burial in the 1st Dynasty, which was often assumed in early research but never really proven.