Image copyright University of Catania and Cairo University Image caption The ancient cheese was reportedly contained in broken jars

A substance found by archaeologists working in an Ancient Egyptian tomb has proved to be one of the oldest cheeses ever discovered.

Several years ago, the team discovered broken jars in the tomb of Ptahmes, a high-ranking Egyptian official.

The archaeologists found a "solidified whitish mass" in one of the jars which they suspected was food but were unsure which kind.

Now a study has identified it as cheese, dating from 3,200 years ago.

The discovery is significant as there has been no previous evidence of Ancient Egyptian cheese production, authors of the report, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, said.

"The material analysed is probably the most ancient archaeological solid residue of cheese ever found to date," said Dr Enrico Greco, from the University of Catania, who worked with colleagues at the Cairo University in Egypt to determine its identity.

"We know it was made mostly from sheep's and goat's milk, but for me it's really hard to imagine a specific flavour."

Image copyright University of Catania and Cairo University Image caption The discovery was made in a "solidified whitish mass"

The ancient cheese would have had a "really, really acidy" bite, cheese historian and chemistry professor Paul Kindstedt told the New York Times.

The researchers say they also found traces of a bacterium that can cause an infectious disease known as brucellosis, which comes from consuming unpasteurised dairy products.

Symptoms include fever, sweating and muscle aches, and the disease still exists today. If confirmed, it would be the oldest evidence of such a case.

The tomb where the cheese was found belonged to Ptahmes, an Egyptian official who was mayor of the ancient city of Memphis.

The burial site, at the Saqqara necropolis near Cairo, was first unearthed in 1885. But, after being lost to shifting sands, it was rediscovered in 2010.

You may also like:</s>Grab a baguette and a little wine, and sink your teeth into the latest ancient culinary discovery, the world’s oldest solid cheese.



The cheese was recently discovered inside a broken vessel inside the tomb of Ptahmes, the mayor of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis during the XIX Dynasty, dating back more than 3,200 years ago. Archeologists first uncovered the tomb in 1885, but it sat undisturbed for the next 130 years. Then — between 2013 and 2014 — archeologists from Cairo University were digging through the tomb and found the dairy-filled vessel.

This clump may not look appetizing, but thousands of years ago it was edible. (Photo: University of Catania/Cairo University)

The "cheese" is actually a solid white mass, and tests revealed it was a mixture of sheep or goat and cow's milk. But the milk solids weren't the only things lurking inside the jar. Brucella melitensis, a type of bacteria that can cause infectious diseases, infested the solid mass.

But how could cheese survive for thousands of years without completely deteriorating? According to the study, the cheese was preserved through "the interactions for thousands of years with the strong alkaline environment of the incorporating soil rich in sodium carbonate and the desertic conditions did not prevent the identification of specific peptide markers which showed high stability under these stressing conditions."

Even soft cheese can survive thousands of years

Surprisingly, this isn't the only "mummified" cheese out there. In 2014, cheese was found around the heads and necks of Chinese mummies that date back as early as 1615 BC. Chemical analysis revealed this cheese was likely not solid when it was made thousands of years ago but more like a kefir.

But how does a cheese that was as soft as yogurt last this long?

The people from the Bronze Age who buried the mummies interred “their kin underneath what looks like large wooden boats. The boats were wrapped so snugly with cowhide that it's as if they'd been "vacuum-packed.”

Andrej Shevchenko, an analytical chemist from Germany, who helped to analyze what was found on the mummies and confirmed it was cheese, said it isn’t known exactly why they were buried with cheese. Perhaps it was food for the afterlife. (If I got to choose which foods I wanted in the afterlife, cheese would definitely be among them.)

This cheese, like the ancient wine found or the 3,000-year-old butter recently discovered, isn’t actually edible anymore. But, it does provide some evidence of the cheese making process of the ancient people. It’s believed that this cheese was made by mixing dairy with a kefir starter (a mix of bacteria and yeast) as opposed to a rennet starter (a substance from animal guts).

While these two cheeses may be entirely different, one thing is for sure. Ancient civilizations liked to bury the dead with dairy.

Editor's note: This article has been updated since it was originally published in February 2014.</s>Cheese lovers across the world, listen up: This is one cheese we should all stay away from. The world's oldest cheese has been discovered in Egypt... and apparently, it might be cursed. Yes, you read that right. Someone maybe put a hex on cheese. A recent paper published in the journal Analytical Chemistry explores the discovery of the oldest cheese ever found. The ancient cheese was unearthed by researchers from the University of Catania, Sicily and Cairo University, and it just might be proof that cheese will most certainly survive the zombie apocalypse.

This is welcome news if you've been dreading having to eat those ready-to-eat meals in your disaster kit that are good for eleventy-million years but no doubt taste like sawdust. The old-AF cheese was found in the tomb of Ptahmes, an Egyptian pharaoh who wanted to be buried with a snack he could enjoy in the afterlife.

If you subscribe to the folklore that disturbing the tomb of a mummy will lead to a curse, this means that the ancient cheese also carries a curse, but probably only if you eat it. Live Science reported that the 3,300-year-old cheese could contain a bacteria that causes a contagious food-borne illness known as brucellosis, which is a curse in itself. Seriously, no matter how hungry you are, don't eat old cheese you find in a grave.

According to National Geographic, belief in the curse of the mummy spread in 1922 when King Tut's tomb was discovered. When the tomb was opened in 1923, many people involved died within 10 years. However, fear of the curse actually dates back to 100 years earlier. Though the King Tut tomb raiders likely died due to it being old-timey days when not much was known about the spread of disease, the curse of the mummy persists.

The newly discovered old mummy cheese is important because it could be evidence that brucellosis was present in ancient Egypt. If you want to play devil's advocate, you could argue that it's possible that Ptahmes was entombed with the very thing that killed him — cheese. And, because the cheese might contain brucellosis, researchers can only speculate what it taste like.

"For me it’s really hard to imagine a specific flavor. I’m Italian, I love cheese, and I know how much they can change in flavor and appearance even with very few differences in ingredients and process," Dr. Enrico Greco, a chemist at the University of Catania, Sicily, who analyzed the mixture of buffalo, sheep, and goat cheese, told The Times.

Dr. Greco aded that if he could be buried with his favorite cheese, he would. Hey, it's 2018, you can be buried with anything you want. If cheese is your jam, tell your nearest and dearest that in lieu of flowers you want well wishers to put your favorite cheese in your casket. It's your funeral, you can ask for whatever you want. And, if being buried with cheese if your heart's desire, don't let anyone stop you.

Case in point, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a Pennsylvania man named Richard Lussi requested to be buried with two of his favorite Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and his family obliged. He reportedly also asked that the cheesesteaks not be put in his casket until after the viewing because he was worried people would steal them. Apparently, theft of cheese is a real concern among cheese lovers.

"It shocked some people that we did it, but not the people that really knew him,” Richard's son John told the newspaper. "We joked about wondering if he was going to share the other one when he got to heaven." Extreme devotion to cheese is nothing new. In the 1600s, a writer named Samuel Pepys buried his favorite Parmesan cheese when he fled a fire, according to the UK website History House.

The cheese was expensive, and apparently highly sought after by thieves. So my friendlies, the cheese lesson here is two fold: The curse of the mummy cheese is actually just horrific food poisoning, and always take your cheese with you, even to the afterlife. Because, whomever dies with the most cheese wins. Obviously.</s>EGYPT (CBS Local) – It’s believed that ancient Egyptians took their treasured possessions with them when they were mummified. What’s treasure to some, of course, may be something else to someone else. In one case, it looks like one Egyptian took a snack with him. Archeologists say they’ve discovered the world’s oldest piece of cheese in an ancient tomb.

According to a study published in Analytical Chemistry, researchers found a jar containing a “solidified whitish mass” in a 13th century BC tomb. The tomb is believed to belong to Ptahmes, mayor of Memphis in Egypt and first discovered in 1885. The tomb was reportedly lost under drifting sands and wasn’t unearthed again until 2010.

Scientists from Italy and Egypt dissolved the white mass, revealing it was made out of proteins which turned out to be cow milk and sheep or goat milk. A canvas fabric the ancient milk was wrapped in led researchers to conclude this was a block of solid cheese left in Ptahmes’ tomb.

Although some cheeses increase in flavor with age, no one will be snacking on this rare find. The study added that the ancient cheese was likely contaminated with Brucella melitensis, a potentially deadly bacteria which is spread from animals to people through eating unpasteurized dairy products.

If confirmed, it would be the oldest discovery of the disease brucellosis ever recorded.</s>When archaeologists re-excavating the tomb of Ptahmes, mayor of ancient Memphis, Egypt, found jars filled with a solid, white substance, they suspected it might be some kind of food and, it turns out, they were right. Further testing has proved that the substance is, indeed, a 3,200-year-old cheese, the reports. The age and composition of the cheese as just been verified by chemical testing by scientists from the University of Catania and Cairo University, the findings of which were published last month in the academic journal .

Yes, in an attempt to take things of importance from the material world with them into the afterlife, even the Egyptians figured they’d probably want some cheese to snack on. What could be more important than that? While it’s not the oldest known cheese—traces of dairy products like cheese and yogurt have been detected on pottery going back 9,000 years—it is one of the oldest pieces of solid cheese ever found. And yet, the cheese might never have seen the light of day again if some pesky sand dunes had their way. The burial site was first discovered in 1885 but lost thereafter until it was re-discovered in 2010.

So what was ancient Egyptian cheese like? According to the , it was probably the consistency of chèvre. “It would be high in moisture; it would be spreadable” and would have a “really, really acidy” bite, University of Vermont professor and cheese expert Paul Kindstedt explained. Kinstedt also said the fresh cheese would probably spoil quickly. Okay, but what about after a few thousand years?

Well, apparently some archeologists back in the 1940’s found a similar cheese and wrote in their findings that it had “no smell and only a dusty taste.” That we probably could have guessed. Still, if you’re looking for something to pair this ancient cheese with, how about some 8,000-year-old wine or 5,000-year-old beer and a slice of 2,000-year-old bread?</s>Imagine loving cheese so much, that when you die, your friends and family decide to bury you with it. When Ptahmes, the mayor of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, shuffled off this mortal coil around the 13th century B.C. that’s exactly what happened.

Archaeologists excavating his tomb recently found an unknown white substance in jars. They had a sense it was food, but at nearly 3,300 years old, they couldn’t be sure. To the lab it went, and now we have the results. The University of Catania and Cairo University teams have discovered it’s the world’s oldest cheese, according to their analysis published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

The cheese, likely a mixture of sheep or goat’s milk and cow’s milk, was probably a chevre-like spreadable cheese that’s high in moisture and acidity, according to the New York Times. It’s a fresh cheese that wouldn’t take well to aging even for a month, let alone more than 30 centuries.

Ptahmes’ tomb was originally discovered in 1885, but the shifting sands of Egypt buried the site before its location could be catalogued. In 2010 archaeologists rediscovered the crypt allowing for the eventual unearthing of the cheese. Time and environmental conditions wreaked havoc on the 100 g sample researchers managed to extract from the jar. So they had to use new methods of detecting what the substance was by analyzing its proteins. They also found that the cheese contained a deadly strain of bacteria that still plagues unpasteurized varieties to this day. So unlike the recently discovered Champagne that had been lost for a century, it’s best not to try to taste this cheese.

But why did he have it in his tomb in the first place? The mayor of Memphis was an extremely important figure in his day. Ptahmes served as a military leader and the city’s treasurer. With his high station in life, upon his death he was given burial honors afforded to other prominent ancient Egyptians, meaning he was interred with his funeral feast. You could say he was a real big cheese around those parts, but don’t worry, we’d never say anything that lame.</s>What could be the oldest cheese in the world has been been discovered in a 3,000 year old tomb in Egypt.

Archaeologists from the University of Catania in Italy and University of Cairo in Egypt made the unexpectedly cheesy discovery when they were excavating the tomb of Ptahmes, who was mayor of Memphis in Egypt during the 13th century BC.

The cheese, which was found wrapped in canvas inside a broken jar, may be the oldest ever to be discovered.

The journal Analytical Chemistry described the ancient food as "probably the most ancient archaeological solid residue of cheese ever found to date", and said it made with a mixture of sheep or goat and cows milk.

The ancient cheese was probably similar in consistency to soft goat's cheese but with a "really, really acidy bite",

Paul Kindstedt, a professor at the University of Vermont who studies the chemistry and history of cheese, told the New York Times that the ancient cheese was probably similar in consistency to soft goat's cheese but with a "really, really acidy" bite.

"It would be high in moisture, it would be spreadable," he said. "It would not last long, it would spoil very quickly."

However, lovers of fromage are unlikely to get to taste this ancient sample any time soon, as the teams also discovered the presence of the bacteria Brucella melitensis in the cheese.

Brucella melitensis causes the rare but highly infectious disease brucellosis, also known as Malta fever, which can infect humans as well as animals. Symptoms can include fever, weakness and joint pain and last for as long as a year without proper treatment, and in very rare cases it can even lead to death. In goats and sheep, the disease can cause infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth or weak offspring.

Although this might not sound like good news, if confirmed the presence of the bacteria will provide the first direct evidence that brucellosis existed in Egypt 3,000 years ago.</s>If there's one thing that unites the human race, it's the strange desire to consume things we definitely shouldn't.

Shortly after a group of archeologists announced that they'd found the world's oldest cheese buried in an Egyptian tomb, the internet decided that it wanted a taste of the ancient snack.

Led by researchers from the University of Catania and Cairo University, the group of archeologists discovered the cheese in a tomb that was first unearthed in 1885. They published their findings in the July issue of Analytical Chemistry.

Per the report, an analysis of the cheese showed that it's contaminated with Brucella melitensis, which can cause a nearly fatal disease called brucellosis.

But the threat of death has never deterred the internet before.

Considering more than 32,000 people signed a Change.org petition to drink the mummy juice from the mysterious sarcophagus that was unearthed last month, is it really surprising that anyone wants a bite of this (probably cursed) cheese?

Some thought it might pair well with the sarcophagus broth, like some sort of jinxed charcuterie plate.

If there's anything we've learned from creepy childhood cartoons, it's that we shouldn't mess with mummies.

Should archeologists unearth ancient crackers that'll pair well with sarcophagus juice and diseased cheese, all we'll need is a ouija board for the ultimate cursed game night.</s>Let them eat the cheese. University of Catania and Cairo University
• The world's oldest cheese has been found in a tomb in Egypt.
• The 3,200-year-old dairy product might contain a deadly bacteria, researchers warn.
• If it is edible, it might not even taste like modern cheese.
• But people online still want to eat it.

Amid broken jars and shattered glass, the world's oldest cheese has been found in a tomb in Egypt. But the 3,200-year-old dairy product might not be safe to eat, researchers warn.

The mysterious white substance, which is believed to be made of either cow or goat milk, was uncovered in the tomb of Ptahmes, who was the mayor Memphis, Egypt, during the 13th century BCE .

But according to ABC, the cheese might contain a potentially fatal infectious disease called brucellosis. According to the CDC, brucellosis is a bacterial infection spread by eating unpasteurized or raw dairy products and infected animals.

As they say, some cheese just gets better with age. University of Catania and Cairo University

In addition to being, you know, potentially lethal, the cheese probably won't even taste like modern cheese.

"I'm Italian, I love cheese and I know how much they can change in flavor and appearance even with very few differences in ingredients and process," Enrico Greco, the research lead from Italy's University of Catania, told ABC.

Still, people, have joked that they want to try it anyway.

Some have gone a step further and suggested that the ancient cheese would pair perfectly with the mysterious red juice that was in the massive black sarcophagus.

Others have mixed feelings about opening Egyptian tombs in general.

And if you're feeling like we just did this, you'd be correct. In July, there was a fierce debate over whether or not archaeologists should open a massive, unidentified black sarcophagus that could potentially be cursed. After a week of internet fury, the sarcophagus was opened, and we have "not been hit by a curse," according to archaeologists.

For more great stories, head to INSIDER's homepage.</s>For thousands of years beneath Egypt’s desert sands a solidified whitish substance sat in a broken jar. Scientists now say it’s “probably the most ancient archaeological solid residue of cheese ever found.”

Archaeologists came across the finding while cleaning the sands around a 19th dynasty tomb at the vast Saqqara necropolis of the ancient city of Memphis. The tomb of Ptahmes, the mayor of ancient Memphis, was initially discovered in 1885 but had been swallowed by shifting sands until its rediscovery in 2010.

The whitish solidified mass was found during the excavation work between 2013 and 2014, along with a canvas fabric which may have been used to cover the jar, possibly to preserve its contents, a study published this week in Analytical Chemistry said. The 3,200-year-old cheese was found to be made from a mixture of cow milk and that of a sheep or goat.

“It (the sample) was subjected to thousands of cycles of hydration and de-hydration due to the rainfalls and the Nile floods and also the very strong alkaline environment transformed all the fats and it was not possible to use conventional techniques,” Enrico Greco, the study’s lead author, said.

Cheese-making has been depicted on wall murals of ancient Egyptian tombs from 2,000 B.C. Also, a 2012 study published in the science journal Nature traces the earliest evidence of the industry to the 6th millennium B.C. in northern Europe, some 7,000 years ago.

Older cheese residues discovered were typically attributed to natural fermented milk like yoghurt or kefir, but the discovery at Saqqara revealed no trace of proteins from natural milk fermentation, Greco said. “For this reason we can say that it is the oldest solid cheese ever found to date.”

There is little information on this particular cheese-making process but “it was necessary to develop a specific technology and procedures that did not exist before,” Greco said. “This is a very important point in the history of dairy food.”

Among the study’s significant findings were the signs of bacteria potentially causing the deadly disease brucellosis, caught through the consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. If confirmed, it would be “the first biomolecular direct evidence” of the disease’s existence during the pharaonic period, according to the study.

“Brucellosis in ancient Egypt has been identified by the osteoarticular effects on mummies’ bones,” Greco said. The finding may suggest that “Egyptians ate contaminated cheese or milk.”
Archeologists from the Cairo University and the University of Catania report the discovery of one of the oldest known examples of cheese. Discovered at a tomb in the Saqqara necropolis, it is the first known evidence of ancient Egyptian cheese production.