Ram‑Headed Pouring Vessel, Miniature Temple and 5,000‑Year‑Old Winepress Unearthed at Megiddo (Armageddon)

Ancient ritual objects and an early winepress found near Tel Megiddo

Archaeologists excavating ahead of road construction in Israel's Jezreel Valley have uncovered a striking ritual assemblage near the ancient city of Megiddo (also known in Christian scripture as Armageddon). The finds include a 3,300‑year‑old Canaanite pouring set with a ram‑shaped spout, a dollhouse‑sized ceramic temple, and a rock‑cut winepress dated to roughly 5,000 years ago — one of the oldest examples known.

The ram‑headed vessel and ritual offerings

The small Late Bronze Age pouring set consists of a pot molded with a ram's head forming the spout and several miniature bowls that were intentionally buried together. The ram's head is angled forward so liquids would flow from its mouth, suggesting the vessel was used to pour valuable liquids such as milk, oil or wine. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the set may have been used to drink from, to transfer liquid into smaller vessels, or to present as a votive offering in a sacred context.

“The vessel seems intended for pouring a valuable liquid such as milk, oil, wine or another beverage, which could either be drunk directly from the spout, or poured into a smaller vessel for consumption, or as a votive gift,” the IAA said.

Animals such as sheep, goats and donkeys were prized in Canaanite society. The IAA notes archaeological evidence that, during part of Egypt’s Old Kingdom (around 2649–2150 B.C.), some animals were raised in Egypt and exported to Canaan, sometimes for sacrificial use.

Miniature temple and outdoor cult activity

Also recovered was a miniature ceramic temple, roughly contemporary with the ram‑headed pouring set (about 3,300 years old). IAA excavation director Amir Golani said the tiny structure likely reflects the form of full‑sized Late Bronze Age Canaanite temples and helps illustrate local religious practice.

Excavators found multiple small pits nearby containing storage jars and imported ceramic jugs from Cyprus. The researchers suggest these deposits were made by residents — possibly farmers who could not enter the city or the temple on Tel Megiddo — who instead buried offerings and maybe produce at a nearby rock outcrop that served as an outdoor altar.

An early rock‑cut winepress

In a separate phase of settlement, dating to the Early Bronze Age (about 5,000 years ago), the team uncovered a small rock‑cut winepress carved into bedrock. The installation includes a sloped tread area where grapes would have been trodden and a channel leading to a collection vat. Excavation directors Amir Golani and Barak Tzin described it as "unique" and among very few known from such an early period, providing direct evidence that wine production occurred at the dawn of urbanization in the region.

Residential structures found near the press indicate the installation was integrated into everyday community life, suggesting both economic and possibly ritual importance for wine production in the settlement.

Context and significance

Megiddo has a long, layered history of occupation stretching back to roughly 7,000 B.C. and has been a strategic and religious landmark for millennia. These recent discoveries enrich our picture of daily life, economic activity and religious practice around the city across different periods — from early urban beginnings to the Late Bronze Age.