Wine cellar of 3,700 years old

Recent archaeologists have discovered a wine cellar dating to about 3,700 years old under a palace in northern Israel.

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Fox News reported that an ancient wine cellar was discovered under the rubble of Canaan Palace, near the town of Nahariya, north of Israel.

According to calculations by scientists, wine cellars date to about 3,700 years old. In the excavation area, they found 40 ceramic pots used to store alcohol, each with a capacity of about 50 liters. The pots containing alcohol are all marked the same, probably by a ceramic maker.

Traces of nearly 4,000 year old wine cellar in Israel.(Photo: George Washington University)

Andrew Koh of Brandeis University said that the results of the chemical analysis of the samples found in the area prove that this is not the usual drink that people drink daily, but the premium wine for parties.

Andrew and his team members discovered signs of ingredients used to make wine like mint, honey, resin, cinnamon bark or cedar aromas. Chemical analysis also showed that ceramic pots contain red wine or white wine.

The research team believes that this finding could help them to know the level of complex and "sophisticated" alcohol blending of the area people at that time. They said there may be many other wine storage areas, but the number of wine cellars found so far is not enough to meet the local people living here. This led the team to believe that the cellar was built to store the wines for the palace.

The University of Pennsylvania's Patrick McGovern, an ancient wine expert, said the discovery of this nearly 4,000-year-old wine cellar provided some important information about the development of the wine industry in Canaan region. Since then spread to Egypt and through the Mediterranean.