Hey Monganaut,
Thanks as usual for the informative posts and replies. I have a book chapter on vishaps to be published as part of a monograph on the subject later this summer with lots of illustrations which I can send your way when ready. And by the way, I thanked you - and this here forum - in my acknowledgements for the help you provided. All those links/posts you put up some months ago regarding Neolithic seafaring, migrations, etc. were inspiring and really invaluable in my research. Cheers.
I'll look forward to watching the film you linked to.
Your thoughts on ancient trade routes and wares are very interesting. Indeed, people and goods were moving about in remote prehistory in ways most don't realize. The portion of what would become the silk road that runs through Armenia passes by some key Bronze Age megalithic sites, which recalls Burl's observations of stone circles in Britain appearing along the routes of the ax trade. Goods - and ideas - got around.
With regards to wine and spirits, one of the earliest references to beer drinking is mentioned in the 5th century by Xenophon in his Anabasis, when the retreating Greeks were obliged to winter in Armenia among the locals who lived in subterranean dwellings. He describes local Armenian beer ("barley wine") thus: "There were stored wheat, barley, vegetables, and barley wine in the craters (clay pots). In upper level of vessels with the edges in the wine floated barley, and there was stuck a reed, large and small sizes and who wanted to drink, had to take a reed in his mouth and pull it through the wine. Not mixed with water, the wine was very strong, but for local people it was a very pleasant drink"
Bottoms Up!
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