Front Matter & Editorial

This paper presents four Iron Age winepresses discovered at ‘Emeq Lavan, Rogem Gannim and Mordot Arnona in Jerusalem. The winepresses located along ‘Emeq Refa’im share a uniform industrial plan featuring three treading surfaces, settling vats and a central collection chamber. The installations date to the late eighth–seventh centuries BCE, when the subjugation of Judah to Assyria created a need for a centralized royal economy. The newly identified winepresses attest to the high degree of standardization of wine production in the region. We suggest that the location and implementation of a standardized plan indicate that these installations were part of a newfound royal estate established in areas that were previously sparsely populated and uncultivated. It is further suggested that the winepresses may be identified with the royal estate of mmšt (Mamsh[i]t), biblical “Valley of the King.”

New evidence for Iron Age II and Persian-Period wine production in southern Samaria, including many winepresses and bell-shaped winery pits, has recently come to light, expanding our knowledge and revising some of our understandings concerning this phenomenon. While it was widely accepted that industrial wine production during these periods was confined to central Judah, in Jerusalem’s environs, it is now clear that wine was also produced throughout the southern Samaria region, particularly on the desert fringes. Some of these wine-production sites seemingly functioned already during Iron Age IIB, under Northern Kingdom control, while some of the sites also operated under Assyrian control following the conquest of Samaria, and even continued under the Persian administration.

This paper explores the economic system of the Achaemenid Empire in southern Phoenicia through the study of transport wine amphorae, as well as other ceramic vessels, to show that local trade was primarily conducted in an open, free economic system, with minimum intervention of the empire. Furthermore, structures previously unearthed along the coast and defined as fortresses used to monitor trade, are reconsidered in light of their plan, function and date. It was found that the Persian regime focused on taxation and periodic inspection, attesting that the imported Greek wine transported in amphorae flowed freely into the beakers and goblets of the population of southern Phoenicia.

This paper focuses on various technological aspects of Byzantine winepresses. The Byzantine period presents a unique point in time when the increased demand for wine from the Southern Levant is attested by the introduction of new elements in the architecture and design of the winepress. Whereas past studies have stressed the importance of the introduction of the screw-press, it is shown here that this is but one of numerous features that helped increase the yield. Other elements, such as the addition of a second collecting vat and the integration of fermentation cells contributed significantly to local wine production in the Byzantine period.

This article summarizes many years of field research and resultant insights into the technology of wine production and the function of various winemaking installations in antiquity in the Southern Levant. A concise overview is given of the evolution of the ancient winemaking installations in the region, the Gat and the Bet-Gitot, with examples representing the main stages of development. Established theories are reexamined and challenged in light of recent discoveries. An algorithm outlining the wine production process is presented, and a methodology is proposed for the field identification of wine production installations, defining their various components and reconstructing their mode of operation, even in cases where the archaeological remains are scarce.

This study provides an updated picture of the seventh- to eleventh-century CE production and distribution of local and imported wine jars and amphorae across Palestine, which—together with selected data on pottery production sites and winepresses—reflect changes in habits of wine consumption by the country’s population. Beginning in the seventh century CE, a gradual decline occurred in the manufacturing of Gaza jars, simultaneously with an increasing use of southern coast bag-shaped jars. Wine import to Palestine also declined from the seventh century CE on. From the eighth century CE onward, Palestinian wine, whose production gradually diminished, was designated predominantly for local consumption and marketed in regional bag-shaped jars. Finally, this study shows that the sixth-century CE decline of the settlement system and viticulture apparent in the Negev Highlands did not uniformly affect the southern coastal plain, which reflects a nuanced picture of continuous yet gradually declining activity of wine production and marketing until the end of the Byzantine period and sometimes later.

Wine was a primary commodity in antiquity and prevalent in the Southern Levant Mediterranean basin regions and in Mesopotamia. Therefore, its identification in archaeological artifacts by chemical analysis is of great importance. Many studies of wine residues were conducted on pottery from Mediterranean and Near Eastern sites, using a wide range of approaches to extract and detect organic compounds. This article will evaluate and compare these methods and raise consequent considerations for the interpretation of results to arrive at a historic picture.

The grapevine (Vitis vinifera) is one of the most significant fruits in global economy, today as in the past. The international modern wine industry, traditional agriculture and wild populations encompass thousands of grapevine varieties, the differences between them often imperceptible to the naked eye and therefore, necessitating the application of digital technologies. This study aimed at establishing a methodology for analyzing grapevine pips using a 3D scanner, including an optimal protocol for removing the pips’ tissue to improve the botanical identification of recent and ancient specimens. The study presents mechanical, chemical and biochemical methods used to prepare the pips for scanning, the sample including 1400 modern grapevine pips belonging to 91 varieties and 300 grape pips from archaeological sites. In addition, several methodological tests were conducted to assess the tool’s sensitivity to positioning errors and possible morphological changes during natural ancient desiccation. Our study demonstrates the potential of this methodology for archaeological research and its implications for the wine industry.

An excavation carried out near Nein, a village located between Jezreel Valley and Galilee, exposed a concentration of 10 simple rock-cut winepressing installations, possibly dating to the Middle Bronze Age. Three Roman-period burial caves with kokhim, whose vertical access shafts cut through the pressing installations, were partially excavated, yielding stone ossuaries and accompanying grave goods, comprising a variety of pottery vessels including many lamps, and a few glass and metal artifacts. The pottery assemblage dates from the first to the third century CE and is composed of vessels, some characteristic of Jewish Galilee and others, of the Jezreel valley and southern Carmel Range, thus reflecting the geographical location of the site. The oil lamps exhibit many different types, some specifically Jewish, whilst some of the later lamps may reflect the presence of a Samaritan population at the site in the third century CE.

A winery complex uncovered at eṭ-Ṭuweiri, Western Galilee, joins only three published, and several unpublished wineries established in northern Israel in the Roman period. The winery continued to operate in the Byzantine period and went out of use late in the Umayyad period. The article presents the history of research of the site, the excavation and the finds, including pottery, coins and metal objects, as well as inscriptions found at the site in the excavation and in the past. An inscription set in the mosaic floor of one of the treading floors of the winery was dated by the era of Tyre to 564 CE, affording a rare opportunity to reexamine the question of the geographical boundary between the dioceses of Tyre and ‘Akko-Ptolemais in the Byzantine period and the Christian settlement in the region at the time.