A Chinese tomb discovered 2,300-year-old alcohol in a bronze bottle

The vessel was found in a tomb in the Shangjiabao cemetery. It dates back to the late period of the Battle Kingdoms, when the Qin state existed in the region. About 3.74 litres of clear bluish-green liquid with a small sediment at the bottom was preserved inside. The study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

The main thing about this find is its rare preservation. Usually scientists study not the ancient drink itself, but traces on the walls of vessels: plaque, organic residues, chemical markers. Here the researchers had the real liquid, which was preserved thanks to the dense two-layer sealing of the vessel.

Details

The bronze bottle had an unusual neck resembling a garlic head. Such vessels in ancient China are associated with the storage of alcoholic beverages, so the shape itself was already a clue for archaeologists. But the final conclusion was made only after chemical and microscopic analysis.

The scientists found high levels of lactic and oxalic acids in the liquid and almost no tartaric acid. This is an important difference: tartaric acid is characteristic of grape or fruit wine, and the composition found corresponds better to a beverage made from grain.

Microscopic analysis showed that the drink was made mainly from millet. They also found traces of wheat or barley and yeast cells in it. This suggests that the liquid had indeed undergone fermentation and not simply become an organic solution over centuries of being in the ground.

According to the study, the vessel was sealed particularly carefully: cloth was used on the inside and a sticky organic putty on the outside. This protection is likely what helped the liquid persist for more than 2,300 years.

Why it matters

The find helps us understand how alcohol was prepared in ancient China during the Qin state. The analysis revealed not only the fermentation itself, but also a possible technology: the grain may have been milled, heated and a starter used to start fermentation.

This is important because ancient brewing often has to be reconstructed from indirect traces. Here, scientists have obtained rare direct material: liquid, sediment, starch grains, yeast cells and the chemical composition of the drink.

Such data suggest not just that people drank alcohol, but that they already had a fairly sophisticated knowledge of raw materials, leaven, fermentation and beverage storage.

Background

The Chinese tradition of making alcoholic beverages is very ancient. Archaeological evidence shows that fermented beverages existed in China as early as the Neolithic, long before the period of the Battling Kingdoms. But the specific recipes, raw materials and technologies of different eras often remain controversial.

There were different ways of making alcohol in ancient China. One involved the use of sprouted grain, another was a grain and microbial-based fermentation. The new analysis suggests that the drink from Shanjiabao could be linked specifically to the grain leaven tradition.

Source

Ruru Chen et al, "Decoding alcoholic beverage and brewing practices of the Qin state during the Warring States period (475-221 BC) based on archaeological evidence", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2026.