Several 3,300-year-old Canaanite artifacts, including a ram-shaped vessel, were unearthed in archaeological excavations along Highway 66, near Tel Megiddo in northern Israel, in a discovery announced on November 5, 2025. (Katerina Katzan/Israel Antiquities Authority)
Long before prophets, before Israelite kings or Jerusalem temples, the people of Canaan lived by the rhythm of the soil. They planted vines on the slopes of the Jezreel Valley, crushed grapes beneath their feet, and poured the first sweet liquid to their gods. Now, a remarkable discovery near Tel Megiddo in Israel reveals how ancient wine and worship intertwined at the dawn of urban life in the Holy Land.
An Israel Antiquities Authority excavation conducted ahead of road construction on Highway 66 has uncovered one of the earliest known winepresses in the country — about 5,000 years old — and a collection of ritual vessels that bring to light the domestic cult of the Canaanites. The excavation, financed by the Netivei Israel – National Transport Infrastructure Company, was part of a large-scale development upgrading the main artery that links Yokneam, the Jezreel Valley, and the Gilboa region.
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Impressive evidence of Jezreel Valley settlement expansion at the onset of urbanization, and of the Canaanite cult that existed in the land before the Israelites entered the region, was recently uncovered east of Tel Megiddo.”
The discoveries reveal how daily life, agriculture, and religion once merged seamlessly across the northern valleys.
From the Early Bronze Age IB, a small rock-cut winepress was exposed — a sloping treading floor that channeled juice into a hewn collection vat. “This winepress is unique, one of very few known from such an ancient period when urbanization first took place in our region,” explained Dr. Amir Golani and Barak Tzin, Excavation Directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“Winepresses are indeed very common throughout the country, but it is very difficult to date them. Until now, indirect evidence indicated that wine could have been produced 5,000 years ago, but we did not have conclusive proof of this – a ‘smoking gun’ that would clearly show when this happened in our area. This winepress finally provides new and clear evidence that early wine production actually took place here.”
Around the press, the team uncovered dwellings and courtyards that hint at an early village economy. The winemaking enterprise was likely community-based, tied to the cycles of agriculture and celebration. Megiddo’s residents were already part of a regional network that shipped jars of oil, grain, and perhaps even wine to Egypt and the wider Mediterranean world.
Folk Worship in the Fields
A later phase of the excavation, dating about 3,300 years ago to the Late Bronze Age II, uncovered evidence of popular Canaanite worship just outside the ancient city’s gate. Archaeologists found a miniature ceramic model of a shrine, imported Cypriot jugs, and an intact set of vessels used for libations — the ceremonial pouring of liquids.
Among them was a zoomorphic vessel in the form of a ram. The IAA described how it worked: “A small bowl, which was attached to the ram’s body, was designed to function as a funnel; and a similar bowl – with a handle – was probably held to pour the liquid into the funnel during a ceremony. The ram’s head was shaped like a spout. Once the vessel was filled, tilting the ram forward spilled the liquid out from its mouth to collect it into a small bowl placed before it. The vessel seems intended for pouring a valuable liquid such as milk, oil, wine or another beverage, which could either be drunk directly from the spout, or poured into a smaller vessel for consumption, or as a votive gift.”
A 5,000-year-old wine press was unearthed in archaeological excavations along Highway 66, near Tel Megiddo in northern Israel, in a discovery announced on November 5, 2025. (Yakov Shmidov/Israel Antiquities Authority)
The vessels had been deliberately buried in the earth. Their placement suggested small-scale rituals carried out by farmers outside the city’s main temple precinct. In the words of the Authority, “The burial locations of these ritual vessels in the ground yet in the direct line of sight to the large temple area operating at Tel Megiddo in the Late Bronze Age II – may indicate a Canaanite folk cult that took place outside the city on the way to the main city gate – possibly by local farmers who could not enter the city and its temple, coming from their nearby fields to offer consecrations of liquids or valuable agricultural produce, such as wine or oil.”
This “folk cult” reveals a side of ancient religion often missed in grand temple ruins. These were ordinary people, not priests or kings, giving thanks to the land through what they produced. Wine, oil, and milk were not merely commodities but sacred mediums that connected the human and divine.
Layers of Faith and Soil
The Megiddo discoveries illuminate the continuity of belief that tied Canaanite farmers to their earth. For more than a century, excavations at Tel Megiddo have revealed palaces, temples, and gates that mark the rise of urban civilization. But these new finds, uncovered along the modern highway, extend that story beyond the city walls. They show that devotion was not confined to elites but lived in courtyards and fields.
“Megiddo has been excavated for over a century,” the researchers summarized. “While it is long-recognized as a key site in the study of ancient urbanism and Canaanite worship, the excavations we conducted east of the tel have revealed a new part of the matrix between the known settlement in the city – evidence of which has been revealed upon the tel – and the activities taking place in the area around and outside the city. The 5,000-year-old hewn winepress 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.”
As Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, noted, “The Israel Antiquities Authority’s extensive excavations along the route of the Jezreel Valley road are revealing, layer by layer, the wealth of history hidden and embedded in the soil here. 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.”
The finds will soon be displayed at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of the Land of Israel in Jerusalem. “These remarkable discoveries are a national asset and proof that advancing national infrastructure can proceed with full responsibility towards the past,” added Nissim Peretz, CEO of Netivei Yisrael.
The soil of Canaan still holds the scent of crushed grapes. Five millennia later, wine remains part of the region’s spirit — a testament to how the people of this land once turned harvest into holiness, and work into prayer.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
