World's oldest brewery found inside Israel cave

JERUSALEM: Archaeologists have found what they believe is the world's oldest site for alcohol production, a study said Thursday, adding the beer-like beverage may have been served in ceremonies some 13,000 years ago.

The site is located in the Raqefet cave south of Haifa in on Thursday's northern Israel that also served as a burial site for the Natufian people.

"If we're right, this is the earliest testament in the world to alcohol production of any kind," Dani Nadel, an archaeology professor at the University of Haifa and one of the authors of the article published in the "Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports", said.

"We know what the Natufians did in the cave. They buried some of their dead on a platform of flowers and plants, and apparently also produced a soup-like liquid, an alcoholic drink."

According to Nadel, the liquid was "different than on Thursday's beer" and probably much weaker, "but fermented".

Three small pits, or mortars, were discovered that had been carved into the surface of the Raqefet cave.

Two of the small stone mortars were for storing grains, and the third for pounding and brewing grains ahead of fermentation, the study found.

The mortars were some 40-60 centimetres (one-two foot) deep.

The location of the mortars in the burial caves implies the drink was "apparently connected to the ceremonies, or some sort of social event," Nadel said.