Archaeologists find ancient beer factory

CAIRO — American and Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed what could be the oldest known beer factory at one of the most prominent archaeological sites of ancient Egypt, a top antiquities official said Saturday.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the factory was found in Abydos, an ancient burial ground located in the desert west of the Nile River, over 280 miles south of Cairo.

He said the factory apparently dates back to the region of King Narmer, who is widely known for his unification of ancient Egypt at the beginning of the First Dynastic Period (3150 B.C.-2613 B.C.).

Archaeologists found eight huge units — each is about 65 feet long and about 8 feet wide. Each unit includes some 40 pottery basins in two rows, which had been used to heat up a mixture of grains and water to produce beer, Waziri said.

Hoshang Hashimi / AFP via Getty Images A security officer walks through wreckage of gas tankers after a fire at the Islam Qala crossing near the Afghan-Iranian border.