Abstract
Four pools unearthed in Jericho and one at nearby Ein Feshkha were most probably used as vats for producing date wine. Ancient authors tell us, testimonies corroborated by archaeological finds, that in this area, north-west of the Dead Sea, in the first century BCE and first century CE existed groves of date palms. As of the beginning of Iron Age date wine became the principal alcoholic beverage of Mesopotamia (but still called beer) replacing the millennia-old barley beer. Classical authors, as well as the Babylonian Talmud, supply us with detailed description of the production methods and properties of the drink. They all agree about the hangovers that inflict the imbibers. Of the sap of the date palm a different alcoholic beverage was produced in antiquity and is still produced today. A palm tree can produce up to 400–500 litres annually and it stands to reason that such wine was produced also in ancient Palestine.
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