The oldest millet herbal beer in the Europe? The ninthcentury BCE bronze luxury bucket from Kladina,Czech Republic

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Authors

JÍLEK Jan GOLEC Martin BEDNÁŘ Petr CHYTRÁČEK Miloslav VÍCH David ZAVORAL Tomáš MÍROVÁ Zuzana PETR Libor KOVÁRNÍK Jaromír MILO Peter KUČERA Lukáš

Year of publication 2022
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Archaeometry
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Web Full text
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12711
Keywords bronze bucket; gas chromatography; herbs; Late Bronze Age; massspectrometry; miliacin; palynology
Description In 2017, a luxury bronze bucket was discovered near Kladina village in the Czech Republic. The bucket isdated to the ninth century BCE, and it is a unique arte-fact, having no parallel in Europe. Stylistically, it is a“transition type” dated between the Late Bronze Age(11th–10thcentury BCE) and the Hallstatt Period(eighth–sixth century BCE). Detailed palynologicalanalysis of verdigris and soil infill of the bucket identi-fied a wide range of pollen grains belonging mainly toherbs, with bitter-sour properties, and cereals. Subse-quent chemical analysis by gas chromatography/massspectrometry of soil extracts revealed the presence ofthe compound miliacin that is a chemical marker ofmillet. Moreover, a starch analysis reveals the presenceof enzymatically modified starch grains. These data,with the help of archaeological knowledge, indicate that the original content may have been millet-basedfood/beverage with addition of herbs. We suggest thatthis luxury vessel, given the contents we have identified,was deposited, in the late spring/summer months ofthe year.
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