Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon, Winepress Park: Remains of Agricultural Activity from the Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods and Remains from the Ottoman Period and the British Mandate Era / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: שרידי פעילות חקלאית מהתקופות הביזנטית והאסלאמית הקדומה ושרידים מהתקופה העות'מאנית ומימי המנדט הבריטי

Authors

Ayelet Dayan, Israel Antiquities AuthorityFollow
Aviva Bouchenino, Israel Antiquities AuthorityFollow

Abstract

Five excavation seasons conducted in and around the archaeological Winepress Park in Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon uncovered the agricultural hinterland of a settlement active during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods. The finds included architectural remains, three winepresses and several installations. The locally produced and imported domestic pottery from the Byzantine period suggests a residential zone—possibly a farmhouse—that likely served the tenants operating the nearby winepresses. The number and size of the winepresses indicate that wine production at the site was intended not only for local consumption but also for export. Activity at the site ceased during the Early Islamic period, when a ban on wine consumption was imposed, and the site was abandoned. In the Ottoman period, a road passed through the site—possibly one of the two roads depicted on the map of the Battle of ‘Ayun Qara.

Keywords

agricultural hinterland, winepresses, farmhouse, Byzantine period, Early Islamic period, Battle of ‘Ayun Qara

Recommended Citation

Dayan, Ayelet and Bouchenino, Aviva (2025) "Rishon Le-Ẓiyyon, Winepress Park: Remains of Agricultural Activity from the Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods and Remains from the Ottoman Period and the British Mandate Era / ראשון לציון, גן הגיתות: שרידי פעילות חקלאית מהתקופות הביזנטית והאסלאמית הקדומה ושרידים מהתקופה העות'מאנית ומימי המנדט הבריטי," Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel: Vol. 1, Article 34.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/3078-8528.1033
Available at: https://publications.iaa.org.il/qadum/vol1/iss1/34