The Oldest Honey Ever Found, and Why Honey Lasts So Long

The 5,000-year-old honey of Georgia

In the early 2000s, archaeologists building a pipeline route through Georgia found a tomb near the village of Sakire, south-west of Tbilisi. Inside were clay vessels containing remains of honey, identified by the pollen of linden and wildflowers. The honey was dated to about 3,000 BCE, making it the oldest honey residue known. It was likely placed with the dead as food for the afterlife, a custom seen in many ancient cultures.

Georgia, which also has some of the oldest evidence of winemaking, often promotes the find as part of its long food heritage.

Honey in Egyptian tombs

Ancient Egyptians kept bees in clay pipe hives and used honey in food, medicine, offerings and embalming. Jars of honey were placed in tombs, and honey residues have been reported from tombs at Thebes and elsewhere. Tutankhamun's tomb contained jars that are often said to have held honey.

A popular story says archaeologists found honey in an Egyptian tomb that was still edible after 3,000 years, and some versions say they tasted it. It makes a good point about honey's longevity, but the specific claims are hard to trace to a reliable published source, so treat it as a story rather than a documented fact.

Even older: the first honey hunters

People were eating honey long before they stored it in jars. A rock painting in the Cuevas de la Araña near Valencia in Spain, thought to be around 8,000 years old, shows a person climbing to a wild bees' nest. Chemical traces of beeswax in pottery from Anatolia and Europe show people were using bee products as early as about 9,000 years ago. See wild honey and land of milk and honey for the ancient apiary at Tel Rehov.

Why honey lasts so long

Honey resists spoilage for several reasons. It is about 17 to 18 percent water and around 80 percent sugar, so there is too little free water for most bacteria and yeasts to grow. It is acidic, with a pH usually between about 3.5 and 4.5. And an enzyme bees add, glucose oxidase, produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide when honey is diluted. Sealed and kept dry, honey can stay safe to eat for a very long time.

Honey can still change. It crystallizes, darkens and slowly loses aroma, and if it absorbs moisture it can ferment. See does honey go bad and crystallized honey.

Keeping your honey at its best

To keep honey tasting fresh, store it sealed at room temperature, away from heat and sunlight, and always use a clean, dry spoon. You do not need to refrigerate it. Our honeys, from partner beekeepers in New York State, North Dakota and Florida, are never heated above hive temperature and are packed in glass, which keeps flavor well. Try Pure Raw Honey or the bold Buckwheat.