Archaeologists in Poland have identified traces of fermented alcohol in pottery dating back around 4,500 years, the oldest evidence of its kind yet found in the country’s north-east.
The discovery came from ceramic fragments uncovered at sites in Supraśl and Skrzeszew. Researchers examined 13 vessels linked to the Bell Beaker culture, a prehistoric community known for its distinctive pottery and burial traditions.
Laboratory analysis revealed fermentation-related substances, including lactic and acetic acids. The samples also contained traces linked to yeast, bacteria and grain processing. Researchers believe the drinks may have resembled early forms of beer or Nordic grog, an alcoholic mixture thought to contain cereals, fruit, honey and herbs. The results of these analyses were published in the journal Archeometry (https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.70024).
"This research sheds new light on alcohol consumption practices in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age in Northeastern Europe. The results indicate that at least nine vessels once contained fermented alcoholic beverages resembling beer or more complex fermented mixtures, such as so-called Nordic grog. These findings constitute the earliest chemical traces of fermented alcoholic beverages in this region, dating to the second half of the third millennium BC," said the study authors.
Researchers also found signs pointing to the use of wheat or barley. That caught their attention because there is little evidence that cereals were cultivated in the Podlasie region during that period. The earliest confirmed traces of farming there come from later centuries.
The team suggested the ingredients may have arrived through trade contacts with other areas where grain cultivation was already established, including Kujawy and Chełmno Land.
The Bell Beaker culture first appeared on the Iberian Peninsula before spreading across much of Europe between roughly 2500 and 1800 BC. Archaeologists often connect it with drinking vessels, funerary rites and ceremonial gatherings.
The Polish finds were linked to ritual contexts rather than ordinary household use. Researchers think the beverages may have been consumed during ceremonies or communal events.
Some compounds found in the pottery suggest fruits or plant resins could also have been added. Resins may have helped preserve the drinks or change their flavour.
Similar residues were identified in pottery from the later Trzciniec culture, which followed the Bell Beaker period. According to the researchers, that may indicate the practice of making or drinking fermented beverages continued into the Early Bronze Age.
Discoveries linked to ancient alcohol have previously been reported in western and central Europe, but evidence from north-eastern Poland has remained scarce. The newly analysed vessels offer a rare look at practices connected to food, drink and ritual in prehistoric communities living long before written history.
Header Image Credit : Joseph Creamer - Shutterstock
Sources : PAP