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Chapterone
Sourcesandresourcesforthestudyofoleoculture
cities,
like
Antioch-on-the-Orontes,
but
ultimatelydestinedalsoforexternalmarkets
outsideSyria.
Amajorsteptowardsunderstandingthe
phenomenonoftheKDeadCities’ofNorthern
SyriawasmadebyOlivierCallot.Promptedby
Tchalenko,heinitiatedastudyfocusedonlyon
theoliveoilproductionoftheregion.Despite
thefactthathewasnotabletostudytheentire
LimestoneMassifandhedidnotundertaketo
calculatethenumberofinstallations,hisbook
publishedin1984(Callot1984)hasbecome
astandard,citedindifferentaspects,the
technologicalonebeingprobablyoneofthe
mostimportant.Callotestablishedatypology
ofpressinginstallations,dividingtheminto
lever-and-windlassandlever-and-screw-weight
typeswithseveralsubtypes.Asforcrushing
systems,hedividedthemintobasinswith
rollersandroundbasins,allofthemolaolearia
generaltype,subdividedintotwoothers.The
graphicdocumentationbenefitedfromhis
directobservationofthefeatures,including
awealthofdetailsthatrevealedthediversity
ofpossibletechnologicalsolutionsandthe
relativecomplexityofthesefacilities.Situating
theinstallationsinabroadercontextofthe
villageplanwasanotherimportantadvantage
ofthisstudy.InCallot’sownwords,oneof
theobviousshortagesofhisresultswasthe
chronology.Inabsenceofanystratigraphical
excavationsthatcouldhaveprovideddating
materialandwithoutthealwayshelpful
epigraphicevidence,moreprecisedatesfor
mostofthepressingfacilitiesarestilldubious.
Doubtsconcernedalsotheidentificationof
installationsintendedforwineandforoil,
anobservationthatgreatlyinfluencedfurther
investigationsconcerninggeneraleconomic
issues.Oneconclusion,foundedonamore
attentivedifferentiationbetweenthefacilities
andtheirdistribution,appealedthemost
tostudentsofthehistoryofRomanSyria:
Tchalenko’shypothesisabouttheolivetree
monocultureintheLimestoneMassifhad
toberejectedinfavorofamorecomplex
agriculturalsystembasedoncereals,legumes,
fruits,butalsograpesandolivesasimportant
elementsoftheruraleconomy(Callot1984:
115–128).
AfewyearslaterGeorgesTateconsiderably
expandedanddeepenedourunderstanding
ofNorthernSyria’sruralworldwhenhe
scrutinizedhundredsofbuildingsin45villages
oftheregion.Forthefirsttimeresearchcould
bebasedonquantifieddataof249(or254)29
facilitiesdividedintotherock-cutpresstype,
openbuildingsandbiggerbuildingswith
twopresses(forinformationconcerning
oilproduction,seeTate1992:51–54,243,
247–249,253–254,294,318–320).Again,
theproblemofdiscriminatingbetweenwine-
andoil-installationsprovedanobstaclein
thewayofestablishingadefinitivelistofthe
presses.Tate’srejectionofTchalenko’stheory
aboutaregionalolivetreemonoculturewas
evenmoreadamantthanCallot’sandtook
onamoresocialapproach.InTate’sview,
oliveoilcultivationproliferatedfirstinestates
ofconsiderablesize,laterbecomingmore
popularamongsmalllandholdersatthebrink
ofthe5thandinthe6thcenturiesAD,the
productionaimingatthelocalmarketof
ahighlyurbanizedNorthernSyria.
A
brief
program
of
stratigraphical
excavationsinchoseninstallationwould
havenicelyroundedofthesestudies,but
unfortunately,toonlyafewhavebeen
undertaken,e.g.,thevillageofDehes(see
Sodinietalii1980:155–156;Biscop1997:
21–26,49)andtheUmayyadresidenceat
Qasral-Heiral-Sharqi(Grabaretalii1978/2:
51–54,Figs110–114).Anotherinstallation
wasexcavatedbyanItalianteamatTell
el-ShuyukhTahtani.
Thissituationremainsinsharpcontrast
withthestateofarchaeologicalresearch
doneonRomanandByzantinePalestine.
ResearchonoilproductioninIsraelandthe
PalestinianAuthority,alwayscloselylinked
toresearchonwineproduction,wasfostered
considerablybyawaveofwell-programmed
surveysandexcavationsbyIsraelischolarsin
the1970s.ShmuelAvitsur’sethnographic
²9Tategavetwodifferentnumbersofpressinginstallations(1992:243and254),whichdonotmatchup.
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