January 2011: An international research team states it has found the world’s oldest winery in and Armenian cave, in a paper published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science. “It’s the oldest proven case of documented and dedicated wine production, stretching back the horizons of this important development by thousands of years,” stated Gregory Areshian, co-director of the excavation and assistant director of the University of California Los Angeles’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology.

Areshian stated that clay pots and vats discovered at a sprawling cave system in southern Armenia near the border with Iran shows signs of an organized effort to press and distill grapes during the Copper Age, about 6,000 years ago. The roof of the cave had collapsed long ago, sealing in the rudimentary winery and preserving the remnants under an airtight layer of rock and other debris, leading to the remarkable find. Areshian stated that recent excavation at the cave has shown that it was once an important cemetery site, and that the production of wine indicated a complex belief system in which the drink was probably incorporated into funeral ceremonies.

The team, led by Hans Barnard from UCLA, found a simple wine press, vats with residue, remnants of grape vines and seeds, and a small cup that might have been used to sample the goods. The press and wide shallow vat are similar to foot-stomping type equipment used by people throughout the region even up into the 19th century. The wine might have tasted similar to modern vintages as well. Botanists examining the find say it was the species Vitis vinifera, the same one used to produce the vast majority of wine today.

Areshian states the wine would be comparable to a modern unfiltered red wine, and may have had a similar taste to a merlot. He says that he would like to make a recreation of the whole press and assembly to make wine using local heritage grape varietals, just to sample it and see what challenges the Bronze-age vintners may have faced.

Before this find, Areshian stated, the oldest known winery was in Israel, and dated to 1650 BC. “This find shows that there was a high degree of agriculture and horticultural skill even back in 4,000 BC,” states Areshian. “Producing this wine would have been high technology of the time incorporating detailed knowledge of watering cycles, pruning the vines, how to deal with pests and the fermentation process itself, which is more complex than brewing beer.”

The find is an important link in the development of wine culture throughout the region, states Dr. Patrick McGovern, a senior research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. It fits with the first evidence of grape domestication a thousand years earlier, and the later widespread wine distribution and consumption across the Caucasus and Mediterranean.

“99% of the wine we drink today stems from that earliest grapevine domestication event that now seems clearly to have taken place in that region,” stated McGovern, author of Uncorking the Past, a history of ancient wine-making. Not much is known about the people who distilled and drank the wine. But the studies authors say it’s clear that it was probably meant for ceremonial purposes, and not for getting drunk on. McGovern stated, growing grains and fruits for producing and drinking alcohol is an important spark that led to trade and development of agriculture in many different cultures.

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Revisiting New Testament writings with Professor James Tabor as reported by Susan Wolf on Israel National News. In sharp contrast to the popular belief that Jesus was the Christian deity and preached so during his lifetime, Professor James Tabor stated that research clearly shows that Jesus was a normal human being and never claimed to be G-d. Speaking on Israel National Radio’s Tovia Singer show, Tabor charges that Jesus was a Jew who hoped to redeem Israel but never claimed to be G-d. “History clearly shows that Jesus was a Jewish human being, born through natural conception, and had a human father.

While Jesus died in 30 A.D., Paul of Tarsus only began to write twenty years later, in 50 A.D. Professor Tabor’s upcoming book on Paul will detail how there was no Christian following whatsoever before Paul. Even more contradictory, Paul refers to Jesus as the seed of David and not as a product of immaculate conception. It was only after his natural death that that the Christian religion emerged and Jesus became a god,” stated Prof. Tabor, the Chair of the Department of Religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. According to Tabor, the entire chronology of the New Testament is contradictory at best.
Professor Tabor’s research is described in full in his new book Restoring Abrahamic Faith. He just completed a manifesto of Biblical theology rooted in the Jewish Bible in which he presents novel ideas that present a fresh view of the origin of Christianity. Jesus knew nothing about Easter, Christmas or the Last Supper, he says. In actuality, the site of the “Last Supper” is merely the location where Jesus blessed on bread. The notion that Jesus commanded the drinking of his blood and the eating of his body has no historical basis whatsoever, Tabor adds; the Holy Communion developed only after the death of Jesus.

His previous book – The Jesus Dynasty – reached the New York Times best-seller list, shaking up even Ted Koppel of 20/20 nightline with its conclusions. His latest work, Restoring Abrahamic Faith, is based on four decades of research on the historical Jesus and explores the Bible without any preconceived notions. In The Jesus Dynasty, Tabor presented a historical investigation of Jesus and his family with ideas that naturally antagonize many from the Roman Catholic Church. When asked why he doesn’t consider conversion to Judaism, Tabor explains that alongside his love for Judaism and his knowledge that the Jews are G-d’s chosen people, he believes the Jews are meant to be a minority in G-d’s divine plan, and he is comfortable with his place as a declared Ben Noah or Noahide. The belief in Israel’s mission to bring light to the world does not necessitate that everyone be Jewish, he states. Prof. Tabor believes that he can accomplish substantially more from outside of Judaism, and therefore continues his research and writings with the hope that he can expose Christianity and all religions to a proper historical investigation.

Tabor believes that Jerusalem must remain under Israeli sovereignty. In addition, he explains that the Israelis are the most natural and fair broker for the region and are the only ones who actually maintain peace, whereas diverse religious groups, including Armenians, Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Egyptian Copts and other Christians cannot even agree on who should open the Holy Sepulcher in the morning, based on a tradition of passing around the key. It is only the Israelis who have prevented actual bloodshed amongst the various clergymen and have brought harmony to the region.

Although Restoring Abrahamic Faith may be controversial in many settings, Tabor has already received intense support and interest from Christian pastors. Tabor has proven that the foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam can be traced back to the great Abrahamic Faith, despite the different directions in which they all developed. His biblically-based expositions from the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Hebrew Bible combine to present a stimulating viewpoint with a solid historical basis.

For more information on the story of G-d’s great plan, as it applies to all of mankind, visit Prof. Tabor’s website Genesis 2000 .org. Go to Israel National Radio to listen to the interviews.