Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have uncovered one of Israel’s oldest winepresses and rare Canaanite ritual artifacts near Tel Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley, dating back over 5,000 years.

The Early Bronze Age IB winepress, with a sloped treading floor and collection vat, indicates organized wine production alongside nearby residential structures, reflecting early urbanization.

Later finds from the Late Bronze Age II include ritual objects such as a ceramic shrine model, imported Cypriot vessels, and a rare libation set shaped like a ram, used to pour sacred liquids in ceremonial offerings.

These discoveries suggest that rural communities performed devotional practices outside the fortified city, complementing temple worship, Archaeology News Online Magazine has reported.

The artifacts, bridging urban industry and religious life, are now on display at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of the Land of Israel in Jerusalem.