The remote setting and consistent arid climate in the Negev support long-lasting archaeological preservation of both biological materials and human construction. Marginal arid areas with longstanding horticultural histories are similarly ripe settings for locating living endemic cultivars, such as grapevines, whose mere existence empirically demonstrates their resilience to dry conditions and warm temperatures. Thus, in the winter of 2022-23, with the help of several interlocutors, we retrieved two types of feral grapevine cultivars found growing amid the ancient agricultural plots located within our research locale. The specimens were cloned, propagated and transferred to dedicated nurseries near Lachish in the western Judean lowlands where we administered molecular monitoring to track their growth cycles.
The two grape varieties were also sent for paleogenetic sequencing and identification at the Ancient DNA lab in the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel-Aviv University. We compared the genetic makeup of the feral grape samples with the genetic readings of modern grapevines available from open-access genetic libraries, as well as with genomic data obtained in a separate study of ancient grape pips that were retrieved from Avdat, a Byzantine era Negev viticultural hub. The feral grapes were identified as endemic varieties – the “Syriki” and the “Be’er” (Hebrew for “water well”) – and found to possess a second degree of genetic kinship to the Avdat grape pips. In September 2023, in cooperation with the Negev regional municipalities and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, 85 cloned cultivars were planted in an experimental vineyard situated at the base of the Avdat tourism park. The vineyard is being tended with modern agricultural techniques and we are tracking the responses of the grapevines to the arid environment and the ongoing progress of their revival.
In parallel, we conducted ethnographic research among longstanding elders – Jewish and Bedouin – who live in the Negev and were once involved in farming and viticulture. Our interviews frequently occurred on field outings that took place throughout the different seasons of the year among the agricultural and settlement relics from the Ottoman (1517-1918) and British Mandate (1918-1948) eras, that were often built on the ruins of even earlier farming installations and orchards. The stories and explanations we heard helped us to contextualize the practical aspects of past attempts at dryland viticulture.
To attain a first-hand appreciation of the real-world potential for Negev wine revival, we applied ethnographic fieldwork to examine contemporary Negev vineyards and wineries. The fieldwork enabled us to gain insights into the motivations for growing grapes in the remote Negev, the current state-of-the-art for arid land viticulture, the adaptive cultivation strategies employed (or not) within this framework, the quality of Negev wines, and the present and future socioeconomic, national and international significance of the Negev wine revival. The primary research afforded concrete opportunities to witness, engage and reflect on the complex assortment of daily and seasonal choices and challenges facing current Negev viticulture development.
