6,000-year-old winery found in Armenian cave

Archaeologists have discovered the world's oldest known winery, complete with rudimentary wine presses and fermentation vats, in a cave complex in southern Armenia. The ancient distillery is more than 6,000 years old.

The team of Armenian, Irish and U.S researchers found the cave near the Iranian border, close to a village that still produces wine to this day. The cave's ceiling had collapsed, preserving the ancient find under a layer of rock. Radiocarbon analysis dated the artefacts to the Copper Age, around 4000BC.

Amongst the rubble, archaeologists found a wine press, a clay vat, grape seeds and withered grape vines, broken pottery shards, a cup and a drinking bowl. Analysis of residue on the vat found the presence of a plant pigmentation that's only found in grapes and pomegranates. But with no pomegranate in sight, the team is confident that the containers held grape juice.

Previously, the earliest known wine press was around 2,000 years younger than this new find. Discovered in the now Israeli-occupied West Bank in 1963, that wine press dated back to just 1650.

The area is doing well for archaeological discoveries. Back in June 2010, the world's oldest shoe was found at the same site, with a perfectly preserved leather moccasin dating back 5,500 years. And earlier excavations uncovered what may be the oldest preserved human brain, pre-dating mummified grey matter from Pharaonic Egypt by 1,000 years.

Not much is known about the people who distilled and drank the wine in Armenia. It's thought that the press might have been used by predecessors of the Kura-Axes people, an early Transcaucasian group from the ancient middle east. What's for sure is that the brew was used for ceremonial purposes; not getting drunk.