Scientists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest-ever sample of cheese in an ancient Egyptian tomb. The discovery, made by a research team based in the Peking University in China, was published by the Analytical Chemistry journal.

Found in a jar within the tomb, the previously unidentified material has now been named as a dairy product obtained by mixing sheep/goat and cow milk. Using biomolecular techniques, the researchers were able to detect the presence of certain peptides, in this case ones that are specific to cheese.

Also detected in the sample was the presence of Brucella melitensis. This is the main cause of brucellosis in humans, and represents a natural pathogen for sheep and goats. Previous to this there have only been indirect signs that the disease was prevalent in ancient Egypt, but the discovery represents the first direct sign.

High-ranking official

The cheese was discovered in the tomb of Ptahmes. He was mayor of Memphis and high-ranking official under Pharaohs Sethi I and Ramses II from 1290 BC to 1213 BC. His tomb was originally unearthed in 1885, but was lost under shifting sands at the end of the 19th century, before reappearing in 2010.

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3,200-year-old cheese discovered in ancient Egyptian tomb

Scientists have been able to identify a previously unknown material found in a tomb in Egypt as cheese, that was made from sheep or goat milk.