5,000-year-old pub found in Iraq, remnants of prehistoric refrigeration system unearthed too

In southern Iraq, archaeologists discovered the remains of a bar that dates back over 5,000 years, which they think may shed light on everyday life in the first cities. The US-Italian team discovered the artefacts among the ancient Lagash ruins, northeast of the contemporary city of Nasiriyah, which was already known to have been one of the Sumerian civilization's earliest urban centres.

A large oven, dining benches, 150 serving dishes, and the remnants of a prehistoric refrigeration system were also found by the collaborative team from the Universities of Pennsylvania and Pisa.

The bowls hadfish and animal bones as well as signs of beer use, which was common among Sumerians.

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"So we've got the refrigerator, we've got the hundreds of vessels ready to be served, benches where people would sit... and behind the refrigerator is an oven that would have been used... for cooking food," project director Holly Pittman told AFP.

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"What we understand this thing to be is a place where people -- regular people -- could come to eat and that is not domestic," she said.

"We call it a tavern because beer is by far the most common drink, even more than water, for the Sumerians", she said, noting that in one of the temples excavated in the area "there was a beer recipe that was found on a cuneiform tablet".

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The earliest cities in the world appeared in what is now southern Iraq as a result of agricultural surpluses brought about by the domestication of the first crops and the creation of new social classes not engaged directly in food production.

(With inputs from agencies)

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