Olive Press Crushing

A picture of the "crusher" that is the first stage of processing olives.  The olives are placed in the large stone and the upright "disk" is rotated around and around—for about 20-30 minutes.  In doing this the olives and the seeds are crushed.  the seeds contain much oil.

The olive "mash" is then placed in woven baskets for the next step of the process.

This oil press was found in a repurposed cistern at Maresha/Marisa.  It dates to the Hellenistic Period (ca. 3rd-2nd centuries BC).  Over 20 such presses have been discovered at Marisa.