<58 Lutz, Viticulture and Brewing. 



so-called 6iaj3i')Ti]; of the Greeks. A more simple siphon was 

 called "the sucker" (fem.) (npi^'a). The task of transfusing 

 the wine into other jars Avas called nstt?. The vintner was 

 called ^ati^W. 



In 1909 the German expedition, excavating on the site 

 of ancient Jericho, disinterred a house which brought to Hght 

 a wine cellar of the Jewish period. This cellar was situated 

 in the Northern corner. Four large wine amphoras stood side 

 b}' side on the ground towards the southwest corner of the 

 cellar-room. Three of these amphoras were well preserved. 

 On top of two of these amphoras lay a large two-handled plate 

 with spout. A large four-handled amphora was found broken 

 in pieces before the north wall. Amphoras, plates, large and 

 small jugs, a sieve and a spindle- whorl in the debris were 

 discovered. They hung probabh' to the wall on wooden 

 plucks or were placed on wall-boards, according to Sellin, 

 since these vases were found somewhat higher in the debris. 

 This room possessed especially strong inner walls. It was 

 accessible by means of a stairs, which led down to the cellar 1. 

 King David placed special overseers over his wine cellars 

 (l"!^*^ rrinsix) - When the wine was pressed and brought to 

 town, in order to be put into the cellar, it was subject to 

 the tax. The tax-gatherers met the wine-pressers at their 

 entrance to the city-gate and levied the accustomed tenth 

 part 3. The wnne was stored in the cellar either in clay-bar- 

 rels (fT'Sn, C1t3"^ = .tiOo!;; called xn in Syria and Babyloniai 

 or in wine-skins (ilS; called also 21^, rran, 5^3 and S?ipTi 

 according to their form), or finally in jars, pointed at the bot- 

 tom, in order to be placed into the ground. These pointed 

 jars seem to have been out of use in Talmudic J:imes. The 

 wine-skins were kept closed by means of pieces of bone, 

 which were wrapped either with bast or papyrus, or were 

 simply tied with a cord (SDD'^D). The clay-barrels had stop- 

 pers of cla}', lime, pitch or gypsum, but sometimes a piece 

 of leather or cloth or papyrus was simply placed over the 

 mouth of the cask. As soon as the barrel or the wine-jar 



i) Sellin, Jtricho, p. 77= 2) 1. Chron. 27, 27. 



3) I. Sam, 8, 15. 



