|  The wine made probably in 1700 B.C. was likely used for a banquet hall that would be located not too far from where the cellar was a part of the 75-acre Canaanite city named Tel Kabri that has ruins dating back to that time, according to Eric H. Kline of Georgetown University. Terming it as a great process, he said, “this is a hugely significant discovery, It is a wine cellar that, to our knowledge, is largely unmatched in its age and size." The location suggests banquet halls where rulers used to have grand feasts. The wine was probably consumed by foreign guests and the people of Kabri who were wealthy, where they also ate mutton (goat meat) that has been very popular in India historically and in the present times.
The jars contained no wine and were found broken. This could have happened during an earthquake that took place around 1600 B.C. A total of 40 jars were discovered, with an estimated storage capacity of 2,000 liters of liquid at a time, the equivalent of 3,000 bottles of red and white wine, in a 15*25 ft room. The archaeologists also found traces of cinnamon and mint, the very ingredients used to make medicinal wines in ancient times. The team had to work very fast to test the residue since it would have been contaminated by the oxygen outside the storage cellar.
The city was constructed and lived in by the Canaanites, a culture that existed in what are now Israel, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan and Syria.
Dr. Andrew Koh of Brandies University, another member of the archaeological team, noted that the recipe to make the wines stayed the same. He says, “this wasn’t moonshine someone was brewing in their basements, eyeballing the measurements. This wine’s recipe was strictly followed in each and every jar.”
The archaeologists also found two doors in the cellar storage room and feel these would lead to more storage rooms. But they can ascertain only in 2015 when they can go back.
What is significant about this finding is the fact that the city of Tel Kabri had not been built over after the earthquake. The jars were covered with thick mud and debris. The ruins have been untouched, making it a great location to do research. There have been discoveries made inside the tombs, but this marks the largest discovery in the city so far, according to reports.
‘Texts from the ancient town of Mari, Syria, describe herbed wines from this time period but this time, we have not only the physical evidence of jars, but also the scientific evidence for the contents of these jars’, says one of the researchers.
Tags: Israel, Tel Kabri, Eric H. Kline, Dr. Andrew Koh |