Ancient Wine Discovery In Israel
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alexeys/iStock/Thinkstock(JERUSALEM) — A wine discovery for the ages in southern Israel.
Archaeologists digging through the ruins of an ancient garbage dump have discovered 1,500-year-old charred grape seeds.
Researchers believe the seeds were used to make one of the finest wines of the Byzantine Empire, what historical records called the “Gaza Wine” after the nearby port.
Excavations at the Halutza site had already uncovered wineries and storage jugs, but the seeds are the first grape seeds according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Researchers plan to sequence the DNA of the grape seeds to determine their origin and recreate the wine that was so famous, but didn’t survive the ravages of time.
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