Apart from a wine press, fermentation jugs, cups and even remains of pressed grapes, leaves, vines and seeds from Vitis Vinifera were discovered. “This evidence is convincing for a professionally run wine production,” said Patrick McGovern, scientific director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratories of the University of Pennsylvania. And the head of the excavation team on site, Dr. Boris Gasparin said: “The site is very large so that we must assume that domesticated grapes were produced here with a sufficient knowledge of producing wine in large quantities.”
It is known that wine has already been produced in neighboring Georgia 8,000 years ago, but the relics found in the historical Armenian province of Syunik clearly confirm that the contemporary society had the knowledge and techniques for producing wine.
 |
“This discovery shows how important the production of wine was to society in those days,” said Stefan K. Estreicher, scientist at the Technical University of Texas and author (Wine from the Neolithic period to the 21st century). “These producers were experts, they must have spent a lot of time with the production and you only do that if it is worth it, at just one harvest per year.”
It is believed that the wine at that time was not only intended for the secular enjoyment, but was rather used as sacramental wine or was drunk during cultural activities or was used as burial objects. “We believe that, just like in late Egypt, the wine was used for religious purposes,” says Dr. Gasparin. “The wine culture has probably spread only gradually from this mountainous region to the lowlands. In comparison, only much later finds discovered in the Eurasian lowland show that domesticated grapes, which are very likely to have been cultivated here, have been cultivated there, as well as vessels are similar to those which we have discovered here.” (red.yoopress)
Hits: 459
Send as Mail
Add to bookmarks
create PDF
