The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the Friends of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki Association, is pleased to host Dr. Sultana Valamoti, Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, for a presentation titled: "Wine, the Gift of the Vine in Prehistoric Northern Greece: Archaeobotanical Data and Hypotheses."
The presentation focuses on vine remains uncovered by archaeobotanical research conducted at the Aristotle University over the past 22 years in the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Archaeological Research of the Archaeology Department and the PlantCult team's Laboratory at the Interdisciplinary Research and Technology Center of the university. These remains attest to winemaking as early as the 5th millennium BC, representing the oldest evidence of winemaking in Europe. Archaeobotanical findings, alongside chemical analyses and ceramic equipment, document both winemaking and wine consumption in the area, revealing the longstanding connection of northern Greece with the use of grapevine fruits for producing an alcoholic beverage. Wine seems to have been prevalent in the area since the Neolithic period; however, it was not the only alcoholic drink available. There are also indications of beer, though rare, raising the intriguing question of the cultural processes that led to the coexistence of two different alcoholic beverages in the region during the prehistoric era.
Overall, the systematic collection of archaeobotanical data from numerous prehistoric sites in northern Greece has yielded extremely rich plant remains used by the inhabitants of the area for a variety of purposes. Cultivated cereals and legumes formed the dietary foundation, and, along with flax, point to cultivated fields tended by the area’s inhabitants throughout the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. New plant species appeared after the end of the 4th millennium, expanding the range of available plants for fulfilling people’s dietary and other needs. In addition to cultivated species, there are also wild plant fruits, such as acorns and grapes.
