The Areni-1 winery was not a tavern — it was a sacred installation. Archaeologists found twenty burials surrounding the wine press, with drinking cups placed inside the graves, pointing to wine's central role in funerary ritual: offerings to accompany the dead, or ceremonies held in their honour. Pots containing human skulls were also recovered nearby, suggesting the cave complex served both burial and ritual drinking functions for a community 6,100 years ago.
528Wine & Viticulture
