Ancient wine press excavated at Ramat Negev

ARCHAEOLOGY: 1,600 years ago, soldiers may have quaffed wine from this desert press. A large Byzantine-era wine press uncovered in the Negev region is only the second of its kind to be found (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel).

During digs near the Ramat Negev Regional Council, a team of Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists discovered a large Byzantine-era structure dating to the fourth century CE, inside of which was the remains of a wine press. The archaeological dig was continued with a team of youth from a Yerucham yeshiva, in an effort to connect the young men with with the country’s physical history.

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