Archaeological discovery in Negev unearths ancient winemaking industry

Archaeologists conducting excavations in the Negev Desert, located in southern Israel, have uncovered evidence of a thriving winemaking industry dating back over 1,500 years. Genetic analysis and examination of ancient grape seeds have revealed two ancient grape varieties that flourished in the region's hot and dry climate. As Israel's burgeoning wine industry looks to the past, these grapes hold the potential to produce wines that reflect the long history of the region.

Professor Guy Bar-Oz, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Haifa's School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, initiated his excavations in the area in 2015 and focused on the archaeological site of Avdat in 2018. His aim was to unravel the mystery behind the abandonment of the region by its inhabitants 1,500 years ago. The initial excavations concentrated on ancient refuse sites, where Bar-Oz and his colleagues were astonished by the abundance of grape seeds they discovered.

The ancient city of Avdat, known as Abdah in Arabic, was founded in the 1st century BCE by the Nabateans, a people who ruled parts of what are now Israel, Jordan, and Syria. They are best known for constructing the ancient city of Petra, their capital, and were neighbors to ancient Judea. Avdat served as an important settlement between Petra and Gaza, forming part of a spice trade route. Subsequently, the Nabatean lands were absorbed by the Roman and Byzantine empires. The region holds strong connections to our collective viticultural past.

By 600 CE, the population residing in Avdat was predominantly Greek-speaking and Christian. They lived on the eastern fringes of the vast Byzantine Empire, which controlled much of the land bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The agricultural lands of Gaza were utilized, and these viticulturists had access to the empire's trade routes and the realms of what is now Western Europe. Additionally, their fortunes were bolstered by the fact that Jerusalem was a popular pilgrimage destination, attracting visitors from around the world. In other words, it was a thriving market for wine.

The evidence for commercial wine production in the area is compelling. Archaeologists have unearthed large wine presses, remnants of pressed grapes, pigeon towers strategically positioned to provide guano for vine fertilization, traces of irrigation systems—everything necessary for successful viticulture in a challenging environment.

"They didn't have enough water, so they built water systems to collect it during the winter," said Dr. Meirav Meiri, curator of Bioarchaeology and head of the Ancient DNA Laboratory for Animals and Plants at the Steinhardt Museum in Tel Aviv, who worked on the research. "From these sites, we can see that the people living there knew how to make the most of what they had to lead successful lives."

The researchers decided to delve deeper into the grape remains they found. "We wanted to know what varieties they were growing," Meiri explained. "Did they bring them from other parts of the Byzantine Empire or Europe, or were they local varieties?"

Over the past few decades, the Negev region has become a trendy place to plant vineyards, but the vines used are international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon. The ancient varieties have been lost.

The archaeological team collected grape seeds from three sites and used targeted enrichment genomic sequencing and radiocarbon dating to determine the lineage of the grapes. They also sequenced modern indigenous cultivars as well as wild and feral grapes collected from across Israel.

They discovered that Byzantine farmers cultivated genetically diverse grape varieties in field blends. "Perhaps this diversity [in the vineyards] was a strategy for food security," said Bar-Oz. Different varieties may have been more resistant to diseases or drought, or they may have ripened at different times. "And if they all ripen on the same day, you'll have trouble getting them to the wine press."

Two particular grape seeds sparked significant interest. A33 is a direct relative, likely a parent-child relationship, to the modern Lebanese grape variety Asswad Karech, also known as Syriki in Greece. "It's incredible," Meiri exclaimed. "It has many names, but it's the same variety, and it still grows in the region, just not in Israel."

Another seed, A32, is the oldest identified white wine grape to date. Some speculate that it could be linked to a legendary white wine from Gaza. There are literary references in Europe from the 5th and 6th centuries praising the quality of a sweet white wine called Vinum Gazum or wine of Gaza. The wine was known by its port of origin, and the amphorae used to transport the wine would have been unique to that region.

However, experts are uncertain about the source of the wine traded by merchants from Gaza. Avdat lay along the trade route to Gaza, and the port would have been a two-day walk from the Negev vineyards. Archaeologists know that export wine was transported in elongated, stackable amphorae and shipped by sea. Wine for local and regional consumption was stored in smaller, round containers. Significant amounts of Gaza amphora fragments have been found in Western Europe and the British Isles. But after the 6th century, the luxurious elixir disappears from the records.

The A32 seed was discovered in a sealed room in a Byzantine monastery dating back to the 8th century. This was after the heyday of Gaza's wine production, which mysteriously ended two hundred years prior. Christian monasteries remained, producing wine for their own consumption. Could the monks have preserved the famous Gaza wine, allowing it to survive through centuries of political, economic, and social upheaval?

The evidence reveals that for two centuries, winemakers enjoyed a thriving economy. And then suddenly, they did not. Yet, the reason behind the collapse of the flourishing wine industry remains a mystery.

"We could see from the way the houses were constructed that they intended to stay forever, but something went wrong," Bar-Oz pondered. "What happened?"

One theory points to the Muslim conquest around 640 CE, but carbon dating indicates that wine production had largely ceased over 100 years earlier. The archaeologists found that the houses had been meticulously sealed with stones, as if the owners intended to protect them until their return.

Two other theories were explored: climate change and plague. Based on the evidence gathered from the three sites, it does not appear that either of these factors led to the collapse of this wine-centric society. The likely cause was economic. It was a time of turmoil, and the eastern territories of the empire, reliant on Byzantine globalization, may have lost their export markets, resulting in a local economy collapse. "The facts tell a complex story," Bar-Oz remarked.

But soon, it may be possible to savor an authentic Negev wine made from ancient grapes, quite possibly including the legendary white wine of Gaza. Research funding has enabled the propagation of these two ancient grape varieties, which will be planted on five acres in the Negev Highlands, bringing the Byzantine vineyards of old into the 21st century. The researchers plan to commence planting the vineyard in September.