Editing Antipatris (section)

==Excavation==
===Area A===
The earliest [[winepress]]es discovered to date in the Southern Levant were excavated adjoining the governor's residency at Tel Aphek, dated to the 13th century BC, the reign of [[Ramesses II]]. The two winepresses were plastered and possessed two treading floors (Hebrew: ''gat elyonah'', “upper vat”) in parallel configuration extending over 6 m². Beneath and next to these, the stone-lined plastered collection vats (Hebrew: ''gat tahtonah'', “lower vat”) could each store over 3 m³, or 3,000 litres, of pressed grape juice. [[Canaanite amphora]]e were recovered still in situ at the bottom of each pit, while a midden of grape skins, seeds and other debris was discovered adjacent to the installations [Kochavi 1981:81]. The excavator has drawn attention to the proximity of these winepresses to the Residency, their large size and the fact that ancient winepresses were normally located outside settlements amongst the vineyards suggesting that the Egyptian administration supervised the viniculturists of the [[Sharon plain|Sharon]] closely [Kochavi 1990:XXIII].

===Trade links and relations===
It is clear that Tel Aphek was a site not only at the centre of imperial administration, but also well-connected to the international trade in luxury goods, as reflected in the abundant finds of Cypriot<ref>Beck and Kochavi 1985:36</ref> and Mycenaean<ref>Warren and Hankey 1989:155-156</ref> ceramics.

Illustrative of Cypro-Canaanite trade especially is a fragmentary amphora handle [Aphek 5/29277], clearly inscribed ''after firing'' with Sign 38 of the [[Cypro-Minoan]] Linear Script [Yasur-Landau and Goren 2004]. The handle was excavated from secondary deposition in Aphek Area X, Locus 2953, belonging to the very meagre Stratum X11 built over the Governor's Residency. An extreme likelihood exists, therefore, that the object belonged to the earlier, more prosperous Stratum XI2 of the Residency itself. Given the as-yet-undeciphered nature of the script, the precise significance of the post-firing addition of a Cypro-Minoan sign<ref>Closely paralleled with at least 7 additional examples from Cyprus ([[Kition]], Maa-[[Palaiokastro, Heraklion|Palaiokastro]], [[Kalavassos]]-Ayios Dimitrios) and [[Ras Shamra]] (Ugarit), cf. Yasur-Landau and Goren 2004:22-23.</ref> must remain uncertain.<ref>cf. Yasur-Landau and Goren 2004:24 for various interpretations, whether an ownership mark, unit of measurement or a phonetic syllable.</ref> At minimum the sign indicates that individuals employing Cypro-Minoan script handled the vessel from which the handle derived. Combined with petrographic analysis of the clay employed in manufacturing the amphora—pointing to an origin in or within the vicinity of Akko—the readiest reconstruction from the evidence must be that the vessel (and any companions) was manufactured in the Akko region before shipping, ''either'' to such redistribution points as [[Tell Abu Hawam]] or [[Tel Nami]], ''or'' (more likely) to [[Cyprus]] itself (perhaps ''via'' one of these ports), where it was likely emptied of its original contents—certainly marked—''before'' being shipped back to the Levant (now probably containing Cypriot product) and achieving final deposition at Aphek.