Shedeh
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| Shedeh in hieroglyphs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
šdḥ[1] | |||||||
Shedeh was a drink of ancient Egypt. Although it was long thought to have been made from pomegranates, recent evidence suggests it came from red grapes.
Our results definitively reveal that the ancient Egyptian highly valued Shedeh drink was a grape product, specifically made from red grapes.[2]
The name Shedeh appeared inscribed on the labels of two-handled Egyptian pottery amphorae at the site of el-Amarna and belonging to the reign of Akhenaten, late XVIII Dynasty. Its name showed it was a beverage different from traditional (grape)wine, whose Egyptian name was irep. An example of the importance of Shedeh in ancient Egyptian times was that it was cited in Egyptian romantic poetry, where Shedeh was associated with a lover’s voice. During the Ramesside (1292–1075 BC) and Ptolemaic (305–30 BC) periods, the Shedeh drink was recorded on temple inscriptions and used as a religious offering as well as for embalming.[3]