Israeli archaeologists discover ancient winemaking complex

Israel’s Antiquities Authority says discovery shows town of Yavne was a wine-making powerhouse during Byzantine period.

Israeli archaeologists have said they have unearthed an enormous ancient winemaking complex dating back some 1,500 years.

The complex, discovered in the central town of Yavne, includes five wine presses, warehouses, kilns for producing clay storage vessels and tens of thousands of fragments and jars, they said.

Israel’s Antiquities Authority said the discovery shows that Yavne was a wine-making powerhouse during the Byzantine period. Researchers estimate the facility could produce some two million litres (520,000 gallons) of wine a year.