2,700-year-old wine press discovered in Iraq

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe is a 2,700-year-old wine press in Dohuk, Iraq, according to the province’s Head of Antiquities, Baikaz Gamal Eldin, Reuters reports.

The discovery was made by a group of Italian archaeologists from the University of Udine, in cooperation with antiquities authorities in Dohuk. The team is working on adding the ancient structure to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Head of Antiquities in Dohuk, Baikaz Gamal Eldin, told Reuters that the press dates back to the rule of the Assyrian King, Sennacherib, adding that the winepress is the “first in the north Mesopotamia region and the second in the Middle East, and I believe the world.”

The site is composed of 14 basins, shaped in squares and circles, and carved into the stone of the mountain itself, located in what was once north Mesopotamia, now the modern-day village of Khanas.

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