26 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists in Iraq find 2,700-year-old wine press

Stone bas-reliefs carved into the walls of an irrigation canal some nine kilometers (5.5 miles) long, and the remains of a large-scale wine factory, were found in Faida in northern Iraq.

The stone bas-reliefs, showing kings praying to the gods, the joint team of archaeologists from the Department of Antiquities in Dohuk and colleagues from Italy said.

The carvings — 12 panels measuring five meters (16 feet) wide and two meters tall showing gods, kings, and sacred animals — date from the reigns of Sargon II (721-705 BC) and his son Sennacherib.

Sennacherib was the king of Assyria who reigned from about 720 BC to 683 BC.

“There are other places with rock reliefs in Iraq, especially in Kurdistan, but none are so huge and monumental as this one,” said Italian archaeologist Daniele Morandi Bonacossi.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The carvings were made to remind people of the king who ordered the construction of an irrigation canal. Photo: Terra Di Ninive/AFP
The carvings were made to remind people of the king who ordered the construction of an irrigation canal. Photo: Terra Di Ninive/AFP

“The scenes represent the Assyrian king praying in front of the Assyrian gods,” he said, noting that the seven key gods are all seen, including Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, who is depicted on top of a lion.

Ancient ‘propaganda scene’

The irrigation canal was cut into limestone to carry water from the hills to the fields of farmers, and the carvings were made to remind people of the king who ordered its construction.

“It was not only a religious scene of prayer, but it was also political, a sort of propaganda scene,” Morandi Bonacossi added.

Archaeologists in Iraq also discovered stone-cut pits used to press the grapes and extract the juice, which was then processed into wine - Terra Di Ninive/AFP
Archaeologists in Iraq also discovered stone-cut pits used to press the grapes and extract the juice, which was then processed into wine – Terra Di Ninive/AFP

“The king, in this way, wanted to show to the people living in the area that he was the one who has created these massive irrigation systems, so… the people should remember this and remain loyal.”

At Khinis, also near Dohuk, the team unearthed giant stone basins cut into white rock that was used in commercial wine-making during the reign of Sennacherib, in the late 8th or early 7th century BC.

“It was a sort of industrial wine factory,” said Morandi Bonacossi, professor of Near Eastern archaeology at the Italy’s University of Udine, adding it was the first such discovery in Iraq.

“We have found 14 installations, that were used to press the grapes and extract the juice, which was then processed into wine.”

Source: AFP

Related Articles

Archaeologists in northern Spanish have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text

15 November 2022

15 November 2022

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text, on  Irulegi archaeological site, near the Aranguren...

The earliest manuscript of Gospel about Jesus’s childhood discovered in Germany

14 June 2024

14 June 2024

A newly deciphered manuscript dating back 1,600 years has been determined to be the oldest record of Jesus Christ’s childhood,...

Mosaic Discovered in Illegal Dig in Zile Points to Ancient Roman Public Structure

12 July 2025

12 July 2025

Zile, a district in the Tokat province of northern Türkiye, has long been recognized as one of Anatolia’s most historically...

Evidence found of Goose domestication in Neolithic China 7,000 years ago

8 March 2022

8 March 2022

Geese may have been domesticated in what is now China as early as 7,000 years ago, according to a study...

Unique Rock Tomb Discovered in Southeastern Türkiye’s Şanlıurfa

3 March 2025

3 March 2025

Hasan Şıldak, the governor of the city of Şanlıurfa in south-eastern Türkiye, announced on his social media account that a...

Archaeologists found 5 unique sculptures representing the Kakatiya art style in Siddipet

19 July 2021

19 July 2021

13th-century statues were found near a temple tank in the Siddipet district in the northern province of Telangana, India. On...

3,000-year-old Treasure on the Iberian Peninsula made with material from a meteorite

7 February 2024

7 February 2024

Scientists have recently discovered that some of the pieces in the amazing Bronze Age collection known as the Villena Treasure,...

700-Year-Old Lord Vishnu’s Sculpture Washes Ashore on Pedda Rushikonda Beach

23 March 2025

23 March 2025

On a serene Friday evening, the tranquil shores of Pedda Rushikonda beach were disrupted by an extraordinary sight: a centuries-old...

An ancient Roman road has been discovered in the Venice Lagoon

24 July 2021

24 July 2021

Researchers discovered a Roman road submerged in the Venice Lagoon. The finding suggests that substantial communities may have existed in...

A female executive’s seal from 3000 years ago was discovered in Turkey

29 October 2021

29 October 2021

During the excavations carried out in southeastern Turkey’s Gaziantep’s Karkamış (Carchemish) Ancient City, seals and prints determined to belong to...

Skeleton Of “Spanish Monk” in Palace of Cortés Turns Out To Be An Aztec Woman

26 January 2024

26 January 2024

Recent research at the Palace of Cortés in Cuernavaca, Mexico, has revealed a grave historical error. For 50 years, it...

Ancient Roman Chalice Contained Pig Fat Discovered in a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon Tomb in England

11 December 2024

11 December 2024

During excavations in Scremby, Lincolnshire in 2018, archaeologists uncovered an enameled copper alloy chalice in a 6th-century AD female grave....

The bronze age village Afragola buried by the Plinian eruption of mount Vesuvius 4,000 Years Ago

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Mount Vesuvius’ Plinian eruption about 4,000 years ago—2,000 years before it buried the Roman city of Pompeii—left remarkable preservation of...

Archaeologists Discovered Remarkably Preserved Shrines inside the Assyrian Temple of Ninurta, in Nimrud

29 December 2024

29 December 2024

Recent archaeological work in Nimrud, led by the Penn Museum in collaboration with Iraqi archaeologists, has uncovered two remarkably well-preserved...

Infinite Embrace: New research sheds light on Bronze Age family relationships that link Britain to Luxembourg

30 January 2024

30 January 2024

A new study of early Bronze Age examples from Luxembourg and Britain, led by researchers from the universities of Mainz...