A new film documentary about the oldest beer in Central Europe, whose discovery also involved experts from the Faculties of Science and Arts, was screened in Olomouc in May. The film, ‘Beauty from Kladina’ (Kráska z Kladiny), was made by Erik Knajfl based on a script by Tomáš Libánek, director of the East Bohemia Museum in Pardubice, and archaeologist Jan Jílek. The Olomouc premiere took place on Wednesday 10 May.
Guests at the screening were the director of the East Bohemia Museum in Pardubice Tomáš Libánek, and archaeologists Zuzana Golec Mírová and Martin Golec from the Faculty of Arts,” reported Lukáš Kučera from the Department of Analytical Chemistry, who participated in the analysis of the samples from the bronze bucket.
The remains of Europe’s oldest millet herbal beer were hidden in a bronze bucket dating back to the 9th century BC. The vessel was excavated in 2017 near the village of Kladina by Pardubice by archaeologists after it was accidentally discovered. They took the bucket to the East Bohemia Museum in Pardubice and asked scientists to help them determine its contents. The remains of the ancient drink were examined by scientists from Palacký University, Masaryk University in Brno, and the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. After a thorough analysis of the samples, they concluded that the bucket was used to brew millet beer with bitter herbs three thousand years ago.
“The discovery of any archaeological object is always a big event. Modern natural science methods can help to better characterise such an object and to identify its primary use. So when chemical markers and organic residues were found in a bronze vessel from Kladina, pointing to the oldest millet beer in Europe, it was something amazing. I am therefore very glad that a documentary film has been made on this discovery and the related analyses, which will make viewers aware of the need for multidisciplinary cooperation,” added Kučera.
The film had its international premiere in the hall of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, where the East Bohemia Museum in Pardubice also presented an exhibition of the same name for the first time. The Czech premiere took place in April this year in the East Bohemia Museum, which is located in Pardubice Castle. The vessel should eventually be kept in a place of honour in the treasury designed by architect Eva Jiřičná for the local castle.