In the archaeological site of Dikili Tash, located southeast of Drama in East Macedonia, Greece, the oldest samples of wine ever recorded in Europe have been discovered in a prehistoric settlement.

The samples date back to 4200BC and reverse existing data regarding the consumption of wine, as well as the social groups of the Neolithic period.

The archaeologist of the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and co-director of the excavations at Dikili Tash said in an interview with a Greek reporter: “It is an impressive and important discovery.

“During the excavations that took place in a house on the archaeological site, quantities of carbonised 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 have learned that the wine-making process was known long before that age, since 4200BC.”

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