Monday, 29 December, 2025
The Drinks Business, James Bayley
As reported by Haaretz, the discoveries were made during salvage excavations ahead of a project to reroute a dangerous section of Highway 66 between Megiddo Intersection and Yokne’am. The work, led by Amir Golani and Barak Tzin of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), revealed a 5,000-year-old winepress carved directly into bedrock and, nearby, ritual vessels including a miniature shrine and a ram-shaped juglet.
The archaeologists say these findings may show that Early Bronze Age Megiddo was not merely a large settlement but a regional cultic centre. According to the IAA, the discoveries are “unprecedented” and shed new light on the relationship between Canaanite domestic life, urbanisation and religion.
The ‘smoking gun’ of ancient winemaking
The winepress was hewn into an outcrop within a residential zone rather than a field, suggesting its role extended beyond simple production. Golani described it as the “smoking gun of actual production,” confirming that wine was not only consumed but made in situ during the Early Bronze Age.
To read the full article, click HERE.