Archaeologists discovered a 3,200-year-old lump of cheese in an ancient Egyptian tomb.

The discovery was made by a team of researchers from the University of Catania and Cairo University in 2018. They found the ancient dairy product inside a broken jar in the tomb of Ptahmes, who served as the mayor of Memphis during the 13th century BC. This tomb was originally unearthed in 1885 but was lost to shifting sands until its rediscovery in 2010.To identify the substance, scientists used liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to analyze the protein peptides. The results confirmed the presence of proteins specific to bovine milk and ovine or caprine milk. This suggests the ancient Egyptians were skilled at blending different types of milk to produce dairy products with specific textures or flavors.The most significant finding was the detection of Brucella melitensis, the bacterium responsible for brucellosis. This zoonotic disease is transmitted from animals to humans, typically through unpasteurized dairy products. The presence of these biomarkers provides the earliest biomolecular evidence of the disease in ancient Egypt, dating back to the 19th Dynasty.Despite the harsh conditions of the desert, the alkaline environment of the tomb helped preserve the chemical signature of the cheese. While the sample appeared as a white, solidified mass, it had lost most of its original moisture and organic fats over the centuries. This discovery offers a rare glimpse into the diet and health risks faced by high-ranking officials in the New Kingdom era.