In a fascinating discovery, researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the National Museum of Denmark have unveiled a 4,000-year-old beer receipt, providing a rare glimpse into the beer culture of ancient Mesopotamia. This remarkable find was announced in a news release from the University of Copenhagen in April.
Unveiling Ancient Practices
The receipt, known as NMC 7962, dates back to the Ur III period, around 2112-2004 B.C. It was found among the archives of the National Museum and had not been studied in recent times. The tablet details beer deliveries, differentiating between high-quality and ordinary beer. Specifically, it records the delivery of 16 liters of high-quality beer and 55 liters of ordinary beer on one day, followed by 12 liters of high-quality beer and 40 liters of ordinary beer the next day. This amounts to over 30 gallons of beer over two days.
Troels Pank Arbøll, an associate professor of Assyriology at the University of Copenhagen, explained that beer receipts were common administrative records in ancient Mesopotamia. These records were used to document the distribution of beer by institutions. Arbøll noted that beer was a central part of Mesopotamian culture from the invention of writing in the late 4th millennium BCE until the end of cuneiform culture. It was considered an integral part of urbanized life.
The Taste of Ancient Beer
The beer was primarily made from barley, though other ingredients like date syrup or emmer wheat were sometimes used. The drink contained some sediment, and depictions show it being consumed through hollow reeds used as straws. Attempts to reproduce Mesopotamian beer have been made, particularly at the University of Chicago. Arbøll mentioned that Mesopotamian beer was probably not high in alcohol but was nutritious.
The receipt does not specify who the beer was intended for, but it was received by the provincial governor, as indicated by his cylinder seal impressed on the clay tablet.
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