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‘Atiqot 58 (2008)
ISBN 2948-040X
A Complex Winepress from Mishmar Ha-‘Emeq: Evidence for the Peak in the Development of the Wine Industry in Eretz Israel in Antiquity
(Hebrew, pp. 47–66; English summary, pp. 65*–67*)
Dina Avshalom-Gorni, Rafael Frankel and Nimrod Getzov
Keywords: technology, agriculture, terminology
A large complex winepress, excavated at Mishmar Ha-‘Emeq, represents the peak in the development of winepresses in the country toward the end of the Byzantine period. Several winepresses of this type have been excavated throughout the country: in the Negev, in the southern coastal plain and in the Carmel. Although they are not identical, they functioned in a similar manner and were connected technologically. They all have five common characteristics: a large treading floor, two connecting vats, one intermediate vat, a screw press or other devices for secondary pressing and auxiliary floors. This elaborate plan allowed for industrial production of wine.