A high-production brewery believed to be the world's oldest was uncovered by a team of archaeologists at the Abydos funerary site in southern Egypt, the tourism ministry said on Saturday.
"The joint Egyptian-American archaeological mission, headed by Dr Matthew Adams of New York University, and Dr Deborah Vischak of Princeton University, working in North Abydos, Sohag, uncovered what is believed to be the oldest high-production brewery in the world," the ministry said on its Facebook page.
It quoted the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziry, as saying the brewery probably "dates back to the era of King Narmer".
King Narmer, who ruled more than 5,000 years ago, founded the First Dynasty and unified Upper and Lower Egypt.
British archaeologists first discovered the existence of the brewery at the beginning of the 20th century but its location was never precisely determined, the ministry said.
The joint Egyptian-American team "was able to re-locate and uncover its contents", it said.
According to Mr Waziry, the brewery consisted of eight large areas that were used as "units for beer production".
Each sector contained about 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows.
A mixture of grains and water used for beer production was heated in the vats, with each basin "held in place by levers made of clay placed vertically in the form of rings".
Dr Adams, who heads the joint archaeological mission, said studies had shown that beer was produced on a large scale, with about 22,400 litres made "at a time".
The brewery "may have been built in this place specifically to supply the royal rituals that were taking place inside the funeral facilities of the kings of Egypt", the ministry quoted him as saying.
"Evidence for the use of beer in sacrificial rites was found during excavations in these facilities," it said.
Evidence of beer-making in ancient Egypt is not new, and past discoveries shed light on such production.
Fragments of pottery used by Egyptians to make beer and dating from 5,000 years ago were discovered on a building site in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced in 2015.
Abydos, where the latest discovery was unearthed, has yielded many treasures over the years and is famed for its temples, such as that of Seti I.
In 2000, a team of US archaeologists brought to light in Abydos the earliest known example of an ancient Egyptian solar barge, dating from the first Pharaonic dynasty about 5,000 years ago.
Egypt in recent months announced several major discoveries, which it hopes will spur tourism, a sector that suffered several blows – from a 2011 uprising to the coronavirus pandemic.
Authorities had expected 15 million tourists to visit Egypt in 2020, compared with 13 million the previous year, but the virus has kept holidaymakers away.
What did Ancient Egyptian beer taste like?
When researchers at the British Museum set out to recreate a beer that was as close as possible to what the Ancient Egyptians would have consumed, using the same methods and ingredients, they reported it was "absolutely delicious", as well as being crisp and refreshing.
The beer was made using a two-stage mash process, with an ancient-style grain called emmer. It was then fermented with a yeast culture in a porous terracotta vessel.
Hops were not used in brewing until much later on in the medieval period. However, other ingredients such as spices and dates were often added as a mark of status, which would have resulted in sweet and aromatic brews.
The Ancient Egyptians drunk the beer directly from the brewing vessel, while it was still fermenting, using clay straws.
What did Ancient Egyptians eat?
Beer and bread made from barley and emmer were the two staples consumed by Ancient Egyptians of all classes. A variety of vegetables and fruits were also widely available. The lower classes consumed fish caught in the Nile, while nobles and priests enjoyed meat, dairy products and wine.
The Ancient Egyptian diet
Bread
Beer, made from emmer
Vegetables: onion, garlic, leek, cabbage, papyrus stalk, cucumber, lettuce, turnip, radish, lentils, celery
Fruit: dates, figs, pomegranates, melons, grapes
Fish, salted and preserved
Poultry: duck, goose, quail
Meat from cows, pigs, sheep, goats, hippos, gazelles, cranes, hedgehogs
Milk and cheese
Wine, pressed from grapes
Juice made from grapes and figs
Honey
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- Grade 9 = above an A*
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- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
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- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Sarfira
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Rating: 2/5
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Rating: 4.5/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Rating: 4/5
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The specs
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Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Who's who in Yemen conflict
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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.