Shedeh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shedeh in hieroglyphs
šdḥ

Shedeh was a special drink from ancient Egypt. For a long time, people thought it was made from pomegranates. However, new discoveries show that it actually came from red grapes.

A study confirmed this, stating:

Our results definitively reveal that the ancient Egyptian highly valued Shedeh drink was a grape product, specifically made from red grapes.

What is Shedeh?

Shedeh was a popular beverage in ancient Egypt. It was different from regular wine, which the Egyptians called irep. Shedeh was so important that it was even mentioned in Egyptian love poems, often linked to a lover's voice.

When was Shedeh used?

The name Shedeh first appeared on pottery jars from the time of Akhenaten, a pharaoh from the late 18th Dynasty. These jars were found at a place called el-Amarna.

Later, during the Ramesside period (1292–1075 BC) and the Ptolemaic period (305–30 BC), Shedeh was used in many ways. It was written about on temple walls and offered to the gods as part of religious ceremonies. It was also used in embalming, which was the process of preserving bodies after death.

How was Shedeh discovered?

In 2006, a team of Spanish scientists made an exciting discovery. Led by Maria Rosa Guasch-Jané, they found a new way to identify a special acid left behind by red wine.

They used two scientific methods, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, to study tiny scrapings from jars found in Tutankhamun's tomb. They found something called syringic acid. This acid is created when a compound called malvidin, which is found in red grapes and red wine, breaks down. This discovery helped scientists confirm that Shedeh was indeed made from red grapes.

See also

• Ancient Egyptian culture
• Historical drinks