Byzantine-era wine presses excavated in Netivot

SALVAGE ARCHAEOLOGY: 1,500-year-old wine presses found in southern city Netivot (Yori Yalon, Israel HaYom).

Presses were used to mass-produce wine, which was bottled in clay vessels known as 'Gaza jugs' • Archeologists date site based on cross etched into seashells used to adorn the fermenting vats • Youth from Netivot, Ashkelon volunteered on the dig.

Two wine presses that date back some 1,500 years have been discovered in the city of Netivot in the northern Negev Desert.

As part of standard preparations for the construction of a new residential neighborhood, the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted digs outside the city. Youth from Netivot and Ashkelon were encouraged to volunteer on the project along with future Israel Defense Forces recruits who are spending a year performing community service before they enlist in the army's Nahal Brigade.

The excavation unearthed the remains of a village dating back to the sixth and seventh centuries C.E., when the Byzantine period gave way to Islam. The findings included a workshop, buildings and two wine presses.

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UPDATE (18 November: The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted the full IAA press release: 1,500-year-old wine presses found in Netivot.