Olive and Olive Oil Production in Ancient Jordan: Contextualizing the Evidence

Abstract

Jordan - as a part of the eastern Mediterranean region- played over the ages a vital role in understanding the history of olive cultivation and oil production. The archaeological contexts of different sites in the country shed light on the development of olive oil technology, and its socio-economic contexts. In this paper, a diachronic perspective will be presented to evaluate the techniques that were used in oil production and the changing scale of oil production from domestic to industrial one. Such a changing pattern of production sheds light on the exchange and trade system of olive oil in Jordan throughout antiquity.