According to Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind), the genus Homo evolved in Africa and spread to Eurasia 2 million years ago, resulting in the evolution of different Homo species. Homo sapiens evolved in East Africa approximately 200,000 years ago and lived there until a breakout into the broader world, commencing 70,000 years ago. The story of wine has a parallel trajectory, with its crucible being the Levant and early touch points being "near-abroad" countries. These early-adopting countries were the cult-wine regions of the time and in this series I seek to describe wine making and wine drinking therein then and now. I have, to date, covered Armenia (wine history and winemaking) and Iran and continue herein with Lebanon.
Ancient Phoenicia
Current-day Lebanon was the Phoenicia of yore. Phoenician was an ancient Greek term used to describe the Iron Age, Semitic-speaking people who inhabited the central coast of the Levant (the region along the eastern Mediterranean which roughly corresponds to modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and certain adjacent areas).
But the Phoenicians were not limited to the Levant. Around 1100 BC the Phoenicians began founding colonies all across the Mediterranean and even on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa. Carthage and Syracuse are two of the noteworthy names that have resonated down the corridors of history but these -- and most of the other colonies -- were lost to Rome during the course of the Punic Wars (264 - 146 BC).
The Phoenicians used their trade routes to spread wine and their alphabet across the Mediterranean.
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| Phoenicia and its trade routes (Source: Wikipedia.org) |
Wine in Ancient Phoenicia
Grape cultivation spread to Phoenicia around 3000 BC and wine became a valuable commodity for the inhabitants both as as a trade good and for local consumption in feasts and as a libation. As shown in the chart below, the wine was well-regarded and was referenced in many ancient sources.
Phoenician Winemaking
Winemaking in the Levant and across the Mediterranean, in the period between the 5th century BC and 1st century AD, utilized wine presses with the following characteristics:
- A treading floor/basin where grapes were crushed by foot
- A vat for the collection of the must
- A connecting channel between the "crush pad" and vat.
The crush pad was generally hewn out of rock or built with stone blocks.
A newly discovered wine press at the Tell el-Burak archaeological site has revealed a marked departure from this convention.
Tell el-Burak is a small Phoenician site located near the modern-day Lebanese city of Sidon. It was occupied between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. The wine press excavated from the site dates to the 7th century BC and is the earliest evidence of winemaking in ancient Phoenicia.
The press consisted of a large rectangular treading basin (4500 L) attached to a large vat. The structure was built with plaster made from a mixture of lime and recycled ceramics. This material rendered the press both easier to build and stronger than its contemporaries. The size of the vessel indicates industrial-scale wine production.
The chart immediately below captures the actual excavated material while the one following is an artist's conception of how the press would have appeared when operational.
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| Excavated Tell el-Burak Wine Press (Source: Orsingher, et al., Phoenician lime for Phoenician wine: Iron Age plaster from a wine press at Tell el-Burak, Lebanon, Antiquity 377, 1224 - 1244) |
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| Artist's conception of Tell el-Burak Wine Press (Source: Orsingher, et al., Phoenician lime for Phoenician wine: Iron Age plaster from a wine press at Tell el-Burak, Lebanon, Antiquity 377, 1224 - 1244) |
In addition to the press, a large number of grape seeds were found at the site, confirming a large scale, industrial operation.
Wine as a Key Phoenician Trade Good
There are a number of references from ancient sources as to the importance of wine in the Phoenician trade arsenal:
- Ezekiel's (Chapter 27) oracle against Tyre suggest the city's involvement (6th century BCE) in transporting and marketing wines produced in other parts of the Levant
- Herodotus (Hist 3.6) claimed that Phoenician wine was imported twice a year into Egypt
- Two shipwrecks (ca. 8th century BCE) discovered 30 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza are advanced as evidence of the scope of the Phoenician wine trade. These ships were laden with hundreds of carinated-shoulder amphorae (a distinctive Phoenician container) and organic residue from one amphora suggests that its contents were wine.
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| Carinated-Shoulder Amphora (Source: amarnaproject.com) |
Initially the Phoenicians tried to avoid spills during transport by covering the wine with a layer of oil but this proved unsatisfactory. They next tried a pinewood disk bedded into the necks of the amphorae with a clay and resin mixture. This resinous mix flavored the wine as it made contact during the course of the voyage and the Phoenicians -- as well as the Greeks -- thought that it also acted as a preservative. This was the precursor to Retsina.
Phoenician Influence in the spread of Wine beyond the Middle East
Domestication of the grapevine and production of wine was initiated in the Caucusus region during the Neolithic and spread to neighboring polities, reaching Phoenicia by 3000 BC. Phoenicia then became the key link in catapulting wine consumption and cultivation knowledge into the wider world:
- It is believed that wine was first brought to Crete by Phoenician traders
- Stassinus, author of the "Cyprus Epic Songs," stipulates that the cultivation of grape vines dates back to the early days of the Island's colonization by the Phoenicians in 3000 BC
- The Romans learned to appreciate the consumption and production of wine from the Phoenician/Punic and Greek peoples
- The first vines in Sardinia were imported by the Phoenicians
- Winemaking in Sardinia dates back to the time of the Phoenicians.
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The Phoenicians, the progenitors of modern-day Lebanon, were clearly major players in the development and spread of wine in Mediterranean Basin and beyond. What has become of that headstart in more modern times? I will explore that question in an upcoming post.
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