Olive Oil in Archaeology: New Discoveries
The news recently made headlines. According to a recent study, the oldest bottle of olive oil in the world was found, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
This research was carried out by the Department of Agriculture at the University of Federico II of Naples and confirmed the authenticity of an olive oil sample stored in a glass bottle from the first century AD. The 0.7-liter container is part of the organic findings that a group of researchers studied in 2018, recovered during the earliest phases of excavations in the Vesuvius area. Although initially thought to contain wine, analyses revealed a surprising result. Using molecular techniques and carbon-14 dating, it was confirmed that the substance was olive oil. Exposure to the eruption's high temperatures and nearly two millennia of uncontrolled storage caused chemical changes typical of altered edible fats.
Specifically, olive oil molecules such as triglycerides, which make up 98% of its composition, survived. Many volatile compounds similar to those found in rancid oil, derived from the decomposition of oleic and linoleic acids, were also identified. Researcher Raffaele Sacchi, project director, concluded: “This is the oldest olive oil sample we have received, the oldest olive oil bottle in the world. This identification is irrefutable proof of the importance of olive oil in the daily diet of Mediterranean populations, particularly the ancient Romans.”
The Olive Tree in Archaeological Records Since Prehistory
Although this recent discovery has drawn attention for its curiosity, researchers continuously provide references to the long history of olive oil production and consumption, mainly through containers used for transport and storage, with countless archaeological finds throughout the Mediterranean basin, where the Olea species is native.
When referring to such ancient times, it is unclear whether the olives were wild or cultivated. While their existence in pre-Roman times is known, it remains uncertain when olive oil production and trade began, though the presence of olive trees in these lands is well-documented.
Current research focuses on determining whether olives were used in the Neolithic. Some evidence suggests vessels, such as those from Sima Rica in Granada, may have held fats, though it is unknown if olive oil was among them. The same applies to early Phoenician containers, such as those found in Coria del Río, one of the first testimonies of this culture in the Iberian Peninsula, investigating whether these vessels transported oil as a prestigious product from the Mediterranean to Tartessian communities.
Phoenician and Greek testimonies in Andalusian protohistoric records suggest this possibility. Phoenician amphorae from the Costa del Sol may have contained the first olive oil, with Tartessians providing the tree and Phoenicians the technology.
The Research Continues
Recent findings of lamps and small Phoenician containers indicate that during the Tartessian period, olive oil use had become widespread. The importance of olive oil among the Tartessians is confirmed by Timeo, who noted that they exchanged silver for oil, a product so significant that it was logical to produce it in places where the olive tree was historically known, initially as a luxury product before becoming widespread, replacing animal fats.
In ancient Mediterranean cultures, olive oil is mentioned on Ebla tablets in the Syrian coast as early as the third millennium BC, and large containers in Cretan palaces probably held oil. In pre-Roman Iberian cultures, Lusitanians sent olive branches in 147 BC as a peace offering to Vetilo. Strabo noted, “From Turdetania, wheat, abundant wine, and oil are exported, the latter not only in quantity but of unsurpassed quality.” He also referenced wild olive groves in Sierra Morena.
During the Roman Republic, competition with Carthaginian olive production led the Senate to decree Carthage’s destruction, and Caesar’s land distributions in Hispania resulted in massive olive plantings, fully productive by the first century AD. Latin texts also mention the olive tree; Pliny the Younger stated, “In Baetica, no tree surpasses the olive, which yields the richest harvests.” Columella dedicated two chapters of his agricultural work to olive cultivation, noting that it “deserves the greatest consideration because it thrives with light care and quickly recovers after neglect.” Roman olive oil production techniques persisted until the invention of roller mills and hydraulic presses.
Some Roman structures were reused as mills during Islamic times, another fascinating chapter in the millennia-old history of olive oil, deserving a separate post on our blog.
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