Bronze Age brewing

Two Irish archaeologists say that beer, not bread, civilised the savage beast, writes Tim Hampson

So what came first beer or bread?

Most ancient historians will have you believe that it was farming and breadmaking that tamed our nomadic ancestors and turned hunter gatherers into people who lived in a stable community.

Not so, say archaeologists Billy Quinn and Declan Moore. They believe that one of the most common archaeological monuments in the Irish landscape was used for brewing a Bronze Age beer. They say it was beer-making that shaped not just Irish culture but many ancient communities worldwide.

The origins of beer are deeply rooted in our psyche. If it is true that we are what we eat, then it is also true that we are what we drink, and our Bronze Age ancestors were probably little different from modern man or woman – if given the choice of what to do on a cold wet winter’s night, drink a beer and party or eat a slice of bread, what would you choose to?

And the great advantage of making beer is not just that the liquid is safe to drink and nutritious but there is no waste as spent grains can be eaten by man, fowl or beast.

Ireland has many well-preserved Bronze Age sites where it is possible to see the enigmatic fulacht fiadh. These monuments, of which there are more than 4,500, can be seen as small, horseshoe-shaped, grass-covered mounds.

Conventionally archaeologists have described them as ancient cooking spots. However, Quinn and Moore believe that they were breweries.

According to Quinn: “The tradition of brewing in Ireland has a long history, we think th.....

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By Sally Toms

Section : News Analysis

Page number : 12