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The press was built during a period of time in ancient Assyria when there was growing demand for wine

Archaeologists recently excavated what they believe to be one of the oldest wine presses in the Middle East, dating back 2,700 years.

The wine press was found by Italian archaeologists in a small village in north Kurdistan region of Iraq, the first of its kind discovered in the region.

It was built during a period of time in ancient Assyria when there was growing demand for wine, according to archaeologists.

Assyria, one of the world's earliest empires, was located in most of modern-day Iraq, as well as parts of Iran, Kuwait, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon.

"This is very interesting because these wine presses do have parallels in other Assyrian sites, for instance in Lebanon," said Danielle Morandi Bonacossi, Professor of Near-Easten Archaeology at the University of Udine.

The wine press structure consists of 14 different basins in different shapes connected via small canals to storage areas that held the liquid. The resulting products were then shipped from the factory to the capital of the Assyrian empire.

The machine and factory was in use sometime between the 8th and 7th century BCE.

"The Dohuk Antiquities Authority is coordinating with the Udine University in Italy to add these sites... to the UNESCO World Heritage list so it can be prepared to receive tourists," Baikaz Gamal Eldin, Head of the Antiquities Department in Dohuk said.

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2,700-year-old Wine Press Discovered In Northern Iraq - i24NEWS