A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has discovered a large winery dating to the Byzantine period in Jerusalem.
Dr. Wiegmann views a 1,600-year-old winepress uncovered in Jerusalem. Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.
“Once again, Jerusalem demonstrates that wherever one turns over a stone ancient artifacts will be found related to the city’s glorious past,” said team leader Dr. Alex Wiegmann of the IAA.
“The archaeological finds discovered here help paint a living, vibrant and dynamic picture of Jerusalem as it was in ancient times up until the modern era.”
According to Dr. Wiegmann and his colleagues, the winery was built about 1,600 years ago.
“This complex installation includes a pressing surface paved with a white mosaic. In the center of it is a pit in which a press screw was anchored that aided in extracting the maximum amount of must from the grapes,” they said.
“Eight cells were installed around the pressing surface. These were used for storing the grapes, and possibly also for blending the must with other ingredients thereby producing different flavors of wine.”
The scientists believe that “this winery served the residents of a large manor house whose inhabitants made their living by, among other things, viticulture and wine production.”
Evidence was unearthed next to the impressive winepress which indicates the presence of a Roman bathhouse there.
The finds included terra cotta pipes used to heat the bathhouse and several clay bricks, some of which were stamped with the name of Legio X Fretensis (the legion of the sea straits).
“Legio X Fretensis was one of four Roman legions that participated in the conquest of Jerusalem, and its units remained garrisoned in the city until 300 CE,” the archaeologists said.
