In the prehistoric settlement of Dikili Tash in northern Greece the oldest samples of wine ever recorded in Europe were discovered.
The samples date back to 4200 BC and reverse existing data regarding the way of living during the Neolithic period.
The archaeological site excavated in the last decade by Greek and French archaeologists near the modern city of Kavala dates to the Neolithic period (6400-4000 BC) and the Bronze Age (3000-1100 BC). Remains from Hellenistic and Roman times also exist, however, and a Byzantine tower crowns its top.
The name “Dikili Tash” dates to the Ottoman period and means “upright stone” in Turkish. It refers to a roman funerary monument standing along the Via Egnatia (the roman road that connected the Adriatic coast to Byzantium), near the eastern entrance of the ancient city of Philippi and very close to the prehistoric settlement.
Discoveries at Dikili Tash
One of the most significant discoveries is the remains of timber-framed buildings from the Late Neolithic period. These structures provide valuable information about the building techniques and lifestyles of these early inhabitants.
Archaeologists unearthed a house, destroyed around 4900 BC, nicknamed the “house of the bucranium.” This dwelling contained a unique decorative element – a clay structure incorporating the rear part of a domesticated bull’s skull.
Excavations have also uncovered a variety of artifacts that shed light on the daily lives of the people at Dikili Tash. These include stone tools, fired clay vessels for cooking and storage, personal ornaments like beads and pendants, and amphorae with painted decoration.
They have also unearthed a considerable quantity of charred plant remains, including wood charcoal used as building material or fuel, and grains and fruits brought to the site for food or for other purposes (e.g. medicines, fuel, building, or weaving material).
The anthracological study shows a rich variety within the forest canopy near the site and reveals, among other things, the intensive use of fruit trees (e.g. apples, pears, plums, and figs) by the site’s inhabitants already during the Neolithic.
The archaeobotanical study confirms that most of these trees were exploited for their fruits, which could have been consumed on their own or included as meal ingredients. The primary plant foods during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age were cereals and legumes, as is the case throughout the Aegean during these periods. Different wheat species, barley, lentils, peas, and bitter vetch are the main crops attested at Dikili Tash.
Prehistoric wine discovered in Greece
Perhaps the most exciting discovery at Dikili Tash is evidence of the earliest known winemaking in Europe. Analysis of residues in storage vessels and botanical remains like grape seeds suggest inhabitants were producing wine as early as 4300 BC.
“It is an impressive and important discovery,” the archaeologist of the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and co-director of the excavations at Dikili Tash Dimitra Malamidou said.
She explained that “During the excavations that took place in a house on the archaeological site, called House 1, quantities of carbonized grape berries that had been pressed were discovered in pots, a fact which proves the extraction of juice from grapes.”
“So far, we knew that people drank wine in the Bronze Age (from the 12th century BC henceforth), but now we learn that the wine-making process was known long before that Age, since 4200 BC,” Malamidou stated.
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