About five kilograms of light green rice wine were found in the western China city of Xi'an Friday afternoon when Chinese archaeologists unearthed a bronze wine jar shaped like a phoenix head.
The wine, which was believed to date to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), was the best-preserved and largest quantity ever found.
The find was thought to be significant to the study of China's archaeology and technological history.
"Different from the modern method, ancient Chinese people 2,000 years ago used rice and broomcorn as raw materials to make wine," said Sun Fuxi, director of Xi'an Cultural Heritage Archaeological Institute.
"The transparent liquid with high purity, marking a mature winemaking technology, usually indicated the noble status of its owner."
The wine is now stored in a glass container for further study.
Similar wine made in the same period, with lighter taste and lower purity, had been found before in Hebei Province, north China, and Hunan Province in central China.
The unearthed wine jar, 78-cm tall, was identified the largest bronze ware made in Western Han Dynasty.
(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2003)
