Ancient Canaanite ritual artifacts and winepress unearthed near Tel Megiddo

Ritual artifacts belonging to the Canaanites, an ancient people referenced in the Old Testament, were recently found in Israel — along with a 5,000-year-old wine press.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced the find near Tel Megiddo on Nov. 5. The excavation was carried out alongside the construction of Highway 66 in the Jezreel Valley.

Tel Megiddo is famously referenced in the Book of Revelation. The site is referred to as “Armageddon,” closely related to the Hebrew phrase “Har Megiddo,” which translates to “mountain of Megiddo.”

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In terms of time frame, the finds ranged from Israel’s Early Bronze Age, around 3000 B.C., to the Late Bronze Age, about 1270 B.C.

The standout artifact was the rock-carved wine press, which officials described as the oldest ever discovered in Israel.

“This wine press is unique, one of very few known from such an ancient period when urbanization first took place in our region,” officials said in a statement.

“Until now, indirect evidence indicated that wine could have been produced 5,000 years ago, but we did not have conclusive proof of this. … [T]his wine press finally provides new and clear evidence that early wine production actually took place here.”

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Archaeologists also found intriguing and fully intact evidence of a Canaanite folk cult dating back 3,300 years, including a ceramic model of a shrine and animal-shaped ritual vessels.

The IAA said the vessels “were carefully placed in the ground in an orderly burial as ritual offerings.”

“These included a miniature ceramic model of a shrine, storage jars, imported jugs and juglets from Cyprus, and a unique and impressive set of vessels, which was probably used for libations, or the ceremonial pouring of liquids,” the release said.

Historians believe it was used to pour valuable liquids — such as milk, oil or wine — into a funnel during ceremonies.

The burial locations suggest a folk cult operated outside the city, possibly comprised of local farmers who couldn’t enter the main temple. 

“[The finds] allow us to become acquainted with the daily life and beliefs of the region’s residents over the course of thousands of years.”

This allowed them to “offer consecrations of liquids or valuable agricultural produce,” the release said.

“Some of these offerings were discovered as intact pottery vessels buried next to a large rock outcrop, which may have served as an open-air altar outside the Canaanite city of Megiddo,” researchers said.

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In a statement, officials said the recent excavation “revealed a new part of the matrix between the known settlements in the city.”

They added, “The 5,000-year-old hewn wine press places the beginnings of the local wine industry in a very early urban-settlement context, while the offerings from the period about 3,300 years ago indicate the continuity of ritual consecration and libations outside the sacred complex within the tell, possibly expressing aspects of the local Canaanite folk cult.”

Eli Escusido, IAA director, said the finds are “revealing, layer by layer, the wealth of history hidden and embedded in the soil here.”

He added, “The exposure of ancient wine-making facilities, and the evidence of folk worship outside of Megiddo, allow us to become acquainted with the daily life and beliefs of the region’s residents over the course of thousands of years.”

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This isn’t the only recent discovery made at the Tel Megiddo site.

Earlier this year, archaeologists announced they’d found evidence of a biblical battle at the site.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, archaeologist Assaf Kleiman said pottery at the site suggested the presence of an Egyptian army, particularly the soldiers that defeated King Josiah.

“The exposure of so many Egyptian vessels, including fragments of serving bowls, cooking pots and storage jars, is an exceptional phenomenon,” said Kleiman.

“We, therefore, understand it as representing Egyptians who settled at Megiddo in the late 7th century, maybe as part of an army force that arrived at the site following the collapse of the Assyrian Empire.”