Discovery of oldest oil press in Anatolia

Archaeologists discovered possibly the oldest olive oil press in Anatolia during excavations in the ancient city of Lyrboton Kome in Antalya, Turkey.

The discovered oil press (by Hurriyet Daily News)

The oldest oil facility in the region dates back 2000 years. It is one of the structures, including olive oil ateliers, houses, baths and churches discovered during excavations conducted in recent years. The site became a settlement during the Hellenistic era but that the area grew during the era of Roman Emperor Domitian in the first century AD. The settlement had been extended and used for a long time during the Christian era, as there were three churches built in it. It was abandoned in the 11th century AD at the latest. According to archaeologists Lyrboton Kome had the status of village (kome) connected to Perge and was an olive oil production centre. From the unearthed inscriptions archaeologists know that the city in Roman times were set up by a woman named Arete and maintained by the family for three generations. As the researchers state, this woman also had the tower built and dedicated to the Emperor Domitian and Perge Artemis. The most important thing is that she institutionalized production by founding olive oil facilities. The ownership and control over the facilities and the settlement started with Arete and was maintained by her daughter Kille and subsequent generations.

(after Hurriyet Daily News)

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