Under a Greek temple buried in Italy, bronze jars discovered in 1954 contained a brownish residue that no one had managed to identify with certainty. This sticky material has been the subject of multiple analyzes that have remained unanswered for 70 years. Thanks to the tools of molecular chemistry, an Anglo-Italian team has just established its nature: honey, probably arranged on the shelves.
An archaeological enigma born in 1954
It is in the thickness of the soils of Paestum, on the southwest coast of Italy, that the mystery begins in 1954. During excavations carried out under an ancient Greek sanctuary, archaeologists discover eight bronze jars carefully arranged in an underground crypt. Inside, a thick, brownish substance, always sticky despite the past centuries. At first glance, objects are interpreted as containers with offering. And content seems an organic substance linked to a ritual. The idea of honey is then essential, consistent with known Greek religious practices. This symbolic commodity is associated with purity, immortality and links between men and the gods.
But the hypothesis remains for a long time without proof. None of the tools available at the time clearly identifies the material. The chemical analyzes carried out between the 1960s and 2000s are all faced with the same dead end. No detectable sugar is found. However, honey, the vast majority composed of fructose and glucose, should logically contain it. This paradox feeds doubt, and the initial interpretation is put in standby. The residue becomes a kind of frozen enigma in the windows of the Archaeological Museum of Paestum.
Luciana Da Costa Carvalho, chemist at Oxford, describes this period as a long tunnel in a press release. “” Researchers suspected honey, but nothing came to confirm it ». The absence of sweet traces could be explained by the degradation of time, but no certainty was possible. But after 70 years of uncertainty, advances in analytical chemistry finally made it possible to clearly identify the nature of the substance.
A scientific treasure hidden in the matter
The team used high -resolution mass spectrometry coupled with proteomic analysis. These methods make it possible to identify extremely degraded organic compounds, up to the molecular level. Despite the centuries and difficult conservation conditions, simple sugars – of which fructose – have been detected, unambiguously confirming the presence of honey.
© Adapted from the Journal of the American Chemical SocietyBronze jar containing honey, right. Honey residues analyzed, on the left.
But the results do not stop there. The researchers also highlighted characteristic peptides of royal jelly. In addition, they found several proteins specific to Apis melliferathe European honey bee. These organic markers are particularly robust and provide a clear signature of the beekeeping origin of the content. “” We have identified hexoses, proteins of royal jelly, and even enzymes specific to the metabolism of bees “, Specifies Carvalho to Live science.
It is the first time that such a molecular spectrum has been observed in such an old archaeological substance. The low concentration of sugars, formerly interpreted as negative proof, would actually be explained by the partial degradation of the components, however braked by the composition of the jars themselves. Indeed, as Stephen McGlynn, a chemist at the University of Cambridge, points out, “the copper ions present in bronze have probably limited microbial proliferation. They slowed down the decomposition of honey ”. This synergy between modern technology and exceptional conservation conditions has resolved a 2500 -year old mystery.
A sacred offering at the heart of Greek practices
The location of the deposit is not neutral. The underground sanctuary in which the jars were corresponded to a herôon. It is a place of worship dedicated to a deified deadly hero, typical of archaic Greek practices. The excavations revealed, in addition to the jars containing honey, a large wooden table placed in the center of the room, as well as iron rods of wool wire, probably used during formalized rituals. These elements suggest a structured liturgical use. Honey was not just stored, but presented in a specific ceremonial setting.
According to Arkeonewsthe team of researchers argues that the character honored in this herôon could be is of propeller, founding hero of the city of Sybaris, mother city of Poseidonia. After the destruction of Sybaris around 510 BCE, the colonists would have transferred their rites to Poseidonia. They would then have perpetuated the memory of a mythified ancestor. This hypothesis is based on epigraphic and cultural parallels found in the region.
In the Greek world, honey occupies a strong symbolic place. It is linked to funeral practices, libations and rites of passage. His use in a heroic worship reflects an intention of communication with the beyond. Luciana da Costa Carvalho specifies: “Honey, for the Greeks, served as a link between the living and the dead ». Its purity, its natural conservation and its medicinal qualities made it an ideal support for offerings. This ritual choice is perfectly consistent with belief systems of the time.
When museums become laboratories
The rediscovery of Pestum honey is not based solely on a technological advance. It also embodies an evolution of the role of museums. From conservation places, they become active research platforms. Objects kept for decades in reserves, sometimes deemed dumb, can deliver new essential data as soon as the right tools and good questions are applied.
Paestum bronze jars are an example among others. Long exposed as simple cultural artifacts, they actually hid biological information that has remained inaccessible for almost 70 years. “” Our results show that organic traces can survive much longer than we thought, if the conservation conditions are favorable “Explains the team. Museums thus become spaces where past and present dialogue, thanks to science.
For Stephen PP McGlynn, a chemist in Cambridge, this approach changes the very approach to archeology. “” It is no longer just to search, but to reconsider what we already have ». Research is therefore not always a question of discovery in the field. It can also arise from reservations, where objects have sometimes been waiting for decades to be reinterpreted. This dynamic opens up major perspectives for the study of other ancient organic materials, kept without having yet delivered their content. The researchers insist on the immense potential that conceals the objects preserved in museums, especially those from excavations of the 20th century.
Source: Luciana da Costa Carvalho et al., “A Symbol of Immortaly: Evidence of Honey in Bronze Jars Found in a Paestum Shrine Dating to 530–510 BCE”, Journal of the American Chemical Society, July 30, 2025
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