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An excavation of a Bronze Age palace in Israel has revealed a huge wine cellar.

Researchers found a collection of over 40 large vessels.

Each, they say, hold a different flavoured wine - with mint, honey and juniper all having been found. 

40 large storage vessels were uncovered in an enclosed room located to the west of the central courtyard.

The study was published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Andrew Koh from Brandeis University and colleagues. 

During a 2013 excavation of the Middle Bronze Age Canaanite Tel Kabri palace in modern-day Israel, the researchers in this study found 40 large storage vessels in an enclosed room located to the west of the central courtyard.

An organic residue analysis using mass spectrometry revealed that all of the relatively uniform jars contained chemical compounds indicative of wine. 

The authors also detected subtle differences in the ingredients or additives within similarly shaped wine jars, including honey, storax resin, terebinth resin, cedar oil, cyperus, juniper, and possibly mint, myrtle, and cinnamon. 

The researchers suggest the detection of these additives indicates that humans at the time had a sophisticated understanding of plants and skills necessary to produce a complex beverage that balanced preservation, palatability, and psychoactivity. 

A ground penetrating radar image of the area, revealed the underground cellar

According to the authors, these results may contribute to a greater understanding of ancient viticulture and the Canaanite palatial economy.

Andrew Koh added, 'Based on the nature of the room, it was anticipated from the beginning that residue samples extracted and studied under virtually identical circumstances with minimal variability would have the potential to reveal new and significant insights from both a scientific and archaeological perspective. 

We believe this study will not only change our understanding of ancient viticulture and palatial social practices, but also the manner in which we approach organic residue analysis (ORA) as an integrated, qualitative, and interdisciplinary exercise that is as field dependent as it is laboratory intensive.'

Wine production, distribution, and consumption are thought to have played a role in the lives of those living in the Mediterranean and Near East during the Middle Bronze Age (1900-1600 BC), but little archaeological evidence about Bronze Age wine is available to support art and documentation about the role wine played during this period.