20

Jun

Let's Make Ancient Egyptian Beer! What could go wrong? 

Dr.Leslie Anne Warden Associate Professor of Art History and Archaeology, Roanoke College; co-sponsored by DC & GA

  • 3:00 PMWashington, DC
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Bio: Leslie Anne Warden is Associate Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Roanoke College; Director of the Kom el-Hisn Provincialism Project; Head of Ceramics Group for the Realities of Life Project at Elephantine Island. She is interested in understanding Egyptian society outside of the realms of the royal house or the elite. 

Info about Lecture: Evidence for Egyptian beer making is limited and, sadly, pharaonic Egyptians provide us no recipes. But the archaeological record provides evidence in abundance: coarse ware mixing and brewing vessels, beer jars lined in mud, actual malted grains, and even yeast. What do these elements combine to make and enable? What are their limitations? And the ultimate question: was the beer drinkable by modern standards? Trial brewing on Elephantine island and in Roanoke College virtual classrooms (read: students’ kitchens) provides us some idea.