Research Information System
in: Olive Oil and Wine Production in Aegean and Mediterraneean in Antiquity, Ümit Aydınoğlu,A. Kaan Şenol, Editor, Bilgin yayınevi, Ankara, pp.259-269, 2024
In ancient period, olive oil and wine were essential staples and significant commodities. Since the
Prehistoric age, man tilled the Upper Plain in East Cilicia, and intensive agriculture continued to
the present day. There are many olive oil and wine workshops, which are concrete evidence of the
agricultural industry in Antiquity. In the Late Antique Period, between the 4th and 7th centuries AD,
the number of ancient villages and farms, each with unique production methods and tools, increased
in the Upper Plain settlements. These settlements turned into production centers focusing on olive
oil and wine production. Production sites that market surplus olive oil to extra-regional trade have
become centers supplying products to the Eastern Mediterranean maritime trade network. Osmaniye
Archaeological Survey documented numerous press tools of oil and wine presses. Most of the
identified press sites are specific to olive oil production and have few wine presses and press basins.
The technology of the presses and press tools of various sizes and typologies found in the region
demonstrate that Cilicia shared similar cultural and technological features with those found in the
ancient settlements of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. The present study will explain the typology,
quantitative, and physical features of the presses and press equipment and stress the prominence of
Plain Cilicia as an olive oil production center in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.