An earthquake struck a palace at Tel Kabri in Israel, about 1600 BC, destroying a well-stocked wine cellar, according to a story on Smithsonian.com.
"The remains of 40 large jugs found at the site show traces of wine infused with herbs and resins, an international team reports today in the journal PLOS ONE. If their interpretation holds up, the room where the vessels were found may be the largest and oldest personal wine cellar known in the Middle East.
“What’s fascinating about what we have here is that it is part of a household economy,” says lead author Andrew Koh, an archaeologist at Brandeis University. “This was the patriarch’s personal wine cellar. The wine was not meant to be given away as part of a system of providing for the community. It was for his own enjoyment and the support of his authority.”
Photo via Andrew Koh