Perspectives on olive cultivation and processing in Maltese Roman antiquity

Abstract

The cultivation of the olive as a source of food and oil is deeply rooted in the origin of farming at the western edge of the Fertile Crescent, though its utilisation may have started even earlier. Olive cultivation and processing was extensively developed in Egyptian, Greek, Phoenician and Roman antiquity. The Phoenicians were probably the first to introduce systematic cultivation of the olive for food and oil in the Maltese Islands, a practice continued by the Romans. Direct extant evidence for olive cultivation is scarce; the millenary olive trees at Bidnija are considered by some as the remains of an extensive oletum, even if these trees have not been reliably dated to the Roman period. However there is ample evidence of olive processing equipment for oil production which appears to have been extensively developed during the Roman period. This applies most especially for durable parts made of stone that have withstood the depredations of time and include amongst others, olive crushers (trapetum), press bases and anchor stones for the screw mechanism. Press parts made of wood have obviously deteriorated but when compared to earlier reconstructions there are elements that match a combination of two distinct types of oil presses-the lever beam press (preIum with counterweight) and the torque/screw press. Roman archaeological sites associated with olive processing come complete with a range of other artefacts including stone settling vats for separation of the oil from the bitter aqueous lees and vessels for oil storage and transport. The olive tree cultivation and oil processing technology will be reviewed using historical and site evidence.