Ancient Canaanite Ritual Life Illuminated by 5,000-Year-Old Winepress Discovery Near Tel Megiddo

Archaeologists working east of Tel Megiddo have uncovered a significant find that sheds new light on the agrarian and spiritual practices of the ancient Canaanites. Excavators from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) unearthed what is believed to be one of the earliest known rock-hewn winepresses in northern Israel, dating back approximately five millennia to the Early Bronze Age.

This ancient facility, carefully carved into the bedrock, contained the essential elements for wine production: a treading floor and a collection vat. This discovery provides tangible evidence of established viticulture practices in the region during that remote period. In addition to this agricultural cornerstone, the dig yielded a collection of ritualistic artifacts estimated to be around 3,300 years old, offering a deeper look into the ceremonial life of the Canaanites beyond major urban centers.

The recovered ritual items included storage jars, jugs traced to Cypriot origins, and unique zoomorphic vessels specifically designed for the ceremonial pouring of liquids like wine, milk, or oil during sacred rites. A particularly notable piece is a ram-shaped vessel, complete with a spout, clearly intended for such libations. These sacred objects were found deliberately interred near the temple complex atop Tel Megiddo, suggesting that local agricultural communities performed their own offerings and ceremonies outside the city’s formal religious structures.

This layered religious landscape indicates that domestic or agrarian rituals held significant meaning parallel to the major temple observances. The presence of specialized ritual vessels points toward a structured cosmology where specific actions and objects were vital for maintaining harmony with the forces governing fertility and harvest. The IAA has announced plans to exhibit these compelling artifacts at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of the Land of Israel in Jerusalem.