This Winery Is Just 2,600 Years Old

A 2,600-year-old Phoenician wine production facility was discovered in Lebanon. This facility used in the ancient city of Tell-el Burak in the Iron Age, the facility went down in history as the country's oldest known winery. This discovery helps us understand the historical adventure in the evolution of the wine industry.

 

Excavations at Tell el-Burak, about five miles south of the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, are dated back to BC. unearthed the well-preserved remains of a seventh-century wine press. The structure used by the Phoenicians who lived in today's Lebanon is the oldest wine press ever found. According to the article published in Antiquity magazine, it is stated that the grapes were pressed with feet in gypsum tubs with a production capacity of approximately 4.5 tons, and the finished wine was kept in the pots after the fermentation is completed in a separate pool.

Photo 1 Tell el-Burak Archaeological Project

The findings obtained from the excavations to unearth the facility shed light not only on the history of wine production, but also on the life style of ancient civilizations living in the Mediterranean. Researchers claimed that this facility was probably used for overseas trade. "Wine was an important product in the Phoenician trade," says Hélène Sader, an archaeologist at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and co-director of the Tell el-Burak Archaeological Project. Phoenician wine from the Sidon region was particularly famous, and this is mentioned in ancient Egyptian texts, he adds. It is assumed that wine has been produced here on a large scale for several centuries. It is stated that wine was very important for the Phoenicians and even the Phoenicians used it in religious ceremonies. It appears that the Phoenicians spread the wine to Egypt and other Mediterranean civilizations through sea trade. It is stated that the sailors of the time may have introduced Phoenician vineyards and wineries to cities in North Africa, Sicily, France and Spain. Stephen Batiuk, an archaeologist at the University of Toronto, says that more advanced Phoenician wines gained popularity thanks to sea trade in ancient Greece and Italy, where the underdeveloped wine from wild grapes was known at that time. It is also stated that the Phoenicians may have introduced a different style of wine culture to other societies with new styles of drinking vessels and production techniques.

The discovery of the wine facility is important as another evidence of ancient wine culture and trade belonging to the Phoenicians. But it also helps us understand how old it is to enjoy a glass of wine.

 

Photo 2 Tell el-Burak Archaeological Project

Resources: 2,600-year-old wine 'factory' unearthed in Lebanon | National Geografic https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/09/2600-year-old-wine-factory-unearthed-in-lebanon