A winepress that was hewn in a steep slope of a spur that descends to the south, north of the Nahal Tirza (Wadi Far‘a) channel and Highway 57 was excavated. Only the northern part of the winepress’ treading floor (L100; 3.2×5.0 m; Fig. 1) was preserved. The floor was cut deeply into the slope; its northern side was hewn to a depth of 1.7 m.  Numerous coarse white tesserae (2×2 cm) were discovered in the excavation, especially close to the northeastern corner of the treading floor, and it seems that these were part of the mosaic that paved the floor. A circular rock-hewn, plastered pit (L101; diam. 1.25 m, depth 0.5 m) was discovered in the center of the treading floor; the pit’s southern end was destroyed. A square step (width 0.1 m, depth 0.1 m) was hewn at the bottom of the pit. A circular stone (diam. 1.2 m, thickness 0.4 m; Fig. 2) with a square hole (0.3×0.3 m) in its center, which was used to secure a pressing installation, was discovered in the pit. The stone resembles a crushing stone of an olive press and it seems that it was put to secondary use in the winepress. The stone was removed from the pit during the course of work at the site. Presumably, the winepress’ collecting vat, which was not preserved, had been hewn in the southern part of the installation. Several ribbed body fragments of jars and cooking pots dating to the Byzantine period were recovered from the excavation.
The winepress was discovered in an agricultural region of fertile soil, close to the wide channel of Nahal Tirza, where water flows in abundance.
The winepress might have been part of the agricultural complex of Khirbat Muqisma, located c. 3 km north of the site, where settlement remains from the Byzantine period were discovered (HA 44:11–12 [Hebrew]).