Very old cheese found in tomb

Very old cheese found in tomb

World August 15, 2018 20:00

cairo - Scientists have probably found the oldest cheese in the world in an Egyptian tomb from the thirteenth century BC. The tomb of Ptahmes, mayor of Memphis thousands of years ago, was excavated in 1885 but disappeared again under sandstorms. The rediscovery followed in 2010.

The archaeologists found, among other things, a broken pot with a tough white substance and a piece of canvas. That was possibly used to cover or preserve the content. With modern techniques it has now been shown that the jug contained extremely old cheese. The study is published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

The chemical analysis of the proteins made it possible to conclude that the cheese farmer used both cow's milk and milk from a sheep or goat. Because the fibers of the cheesecloth were more suitable for solids than for a liquid, the researchers assume that it was already solid cheese.

Other peptides also indicate that the dairy was contaminated with Brucella melitensis, a bacterium that can cause the so-called Maltakoorts. The pathogen still makes victims among consumers of raw milk products.

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