The famous claim about archaeologists finding still-edible 3,000-year-old honey in Egyptian tombs is mostly folklore — but the underlying chemistry that makes honey nearly immortal in a sealed jar is real, well-documented, and perhaps even stranger than t

The famous claim about archaeologists finding still-edible 3,000-year-old honey in Egyptian tombs is mostly folklore — but the underlying chemistry that makes honey nearly immortal in a sealed jar is real, well-documented, and perhaps even stranger than t

Type “3,000-year-old honey” into any search engine and the same story appears hundreds of times. Archaeologists working in an Egyptian tomb opened a sealed jar, found it full of preserved honey, and tasted it. The honey was perfect. Some versions involve King Tutankhamun, some involve unnamed pharaohs, and the dates range from 2,000 to 5,000 years. The story is told as established archaeological fact. When the trail is followed back to primary s…