In a mid-fourth century AD work known as A description of the world and its people (Expositio totius mundi et gentium), it is written: "Ashkelon and Gaza…export the best wine to all Syria and Egypt".
During the Byzantine period, Ashkelon was a flourishing center for
the wine trade in the Holy Land.
Wine from Ashkelon was also popular in neighboring lands: Egypt,
Syria, Lebanon. The wine was exported to Europe. And it was revered from
Constantinople to Britain.
One of the wall paintings in a Roman cemetery depicts a teenager
picking grapes. Next to him is a basket full of grapes.
The most important trade route of antiquity passed through Ashkelon
- Via Maris (translated from Latin as “seaside path”, literally “sea road”). In
ancient Egypt, it was called the Way of Horus.
Winemaking was the basis of the economic existence of many people
in Ashkelon and the surrounding area.
Excellent wine was produced in the city's large wineries, which were located on the territory of a facility called the "Wine City". It was a kind of industrial zone of that time, where the main industry was winemaking.