Overview
- Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists found a rock-cut winepress dated to roughly 5,000 years ago, described by the dig directors as a rare, datable “smoking gun” for early local winemaking.
- Late Bronze Age II ritual deposits included a miniature shrine and an intact ram‑shaped libation vessel with bowls, a complete set that researchers say clarifies how liquids were poured in ceremonies.
- The ritual cache was buried near a rock outcrop in view of Megiddo’s main temple and is interpreted as evidence of a Canaanite folk cult practiced outside the city, possibly by local farmers.
- Residential structures around the press indicate the installation’s importance and show Megiddo’s settlement extended beyond the well‑known tell during early urbanization.
- The discoveries were made in a 1.2‑km salvage excavation along Highway 66, a Netivei Yisrael project promoted by the Ministry of Transportation, with public tours in Jerusalem starting Monday and a Northern Region conference this week.