These 3,700-year-old jars were discovered in an ancient palatial wine cellar unearthed by researchers at Tel Kabri in July 2013. The team worked in day and night shifts to excavate a total of 40 intact vessels during its six-week dig.
Credit: Eric H. Cline, George Washington University
Last July, a team of American and Israelis researchers made a fascinating discovery.
They liked to party in Canaan.
The team was digging in the ruins of a northern Canaanite city that dates back to approximately 1700 B.C. As they dug, they uncovered a jug approximately three feet long. They christened the jug “Bessie.” Dr. Cline, chair of GW’s Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations within the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, said, “We dug and dug, and all of a sudden, Bessie’s friends started appearing—five, 10, 15, ultimately 40 jars packed in a 15-by-25-foot storage room. This is a hugely significant discovery—it’s a wine cellar that, to our knowledge, is largely unmatched in its age and size.”
“The wine cellar was located near a hall where banquets took place, a place where the Kabri elite and possibly foreign guests consumed goat meat and wine,” said Dr. Yasur-Landau, chair of the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa. “The wine cellar and the banquet hall were destroyed during the same violent event, perhaps an earthquake, which covered them with thick debris of mud bricks and plaster.” The cellar could have held the equivalent of nearly 3,000 bottles wine.
It wasn’t clear at first what the bottles had once held, so they were analyzed using organic residue analysis. The scientists discovered ingredients popular in ancient wine-making, including honey, mint, cinnamon bark, juniper berries and resins.
“This wasn’t moonshine that someone was brewing in their basement, eyeballing the measurements,” Dr. Koh, assistant professor of classical studies at Brandeis University, said. “This wine’s recipe was strictly followed in each and every jar.”
You can read more about this discovery here.
Comments 1
The book of John tells us that they like to “party in Canaan”. Jesus turned water into wine at the request of his mother. As Mark Lowry puts it, “just to keep the party going.” I can’t help but wonder if Jesus was at this banquet hall. (Hmmm, maybe Carole’s next book should be about what happens to the host of the wedding after Jesus turns the water into wine.)