In ancient times olives and olive oil had a much greater use. It was used in food. One of the greatest uses of the oil was for lighting in the oil lamps. It was used for offerings in the Temple in Jerusalem, as anointing oil of kings and priests, in cosmetics and in medicine. What was left over after extraction of the oil was used as fuel and as fertilizer. No wonder that the olive became one of the prestigious ‘Seven Species’ of Deuteronomy (8:8).

The Olive Tree

There are still many wild olives in Israel, but it is the domesticated varieties that are seen throughout the country from the southernmost parts of the Hills of Judea to the high mountains of the Galilee.

The tree flowers in May, small inconspicuous flowers. The fruit ripens in late fall, and harvest goes on from late October through November, sometimes into December. The traditional way of harvesting is to shake the branches and allow the fruit to fall unto burlap spread underneath.

Even at this stage when the fruit is ripe, don’t do what I once did – eat the fruit straight from the tree. As I said at the time: I ate the fruit three times – the first, the last and never again. The fruit is so bitter as to be inedible.

But take the time to crush the olive, or place it in a lime solution for a couple of days, and then marinate it in water with garlic, lemon or other spices, and you get the wonderful fruit that many of us like to eat.

Olive Oil Press and Production

Harvesting the olive and producing olive oil is extremely labor intensive. Once the fruit has been harvested the farmer now brings it to the press. In some occasions the biblical farmer had his own press, but usually a privately owned or community press would serve a large area. We are fortunate that many of these presses have survived till today and been found in archaeological excavations. In a few places they have been restored to show the visitor the full process.

Today we are advised to buy only cold press oil. When heated the olive and the oil looses some of its nutritional value. This was also known in ancient times, though occasionally the farmer would heat the fruit at home, in order to get a larger quantity of oil.

"Crusher" in Capernaum

In the olive press the olive must first be crushed. This was done in large “crushers” consisting of a container and the round upper stone, the crusher. The two were connected with an upright pole and a horizontal beam running through the crusher. This stone would be pulled either by people, or in the lucky cases by donkeys.

After running the crusher over the olives for app. half hour, the crushing was completed. This mass was now scooped up and placed in large baskets to be placed on the press. Before this process began the baskets were soaked in water, so that all the oil could be retrieved.

The baskets were now stacked over the press-bed, either with a basin underneath, or a rim around it, to catch the liquid being pressed out. The liquid would run into the catching basin where it would be left, so that the water and oil would separate, the light oil on the top, which would then be ladled off into storage jars.

Presser in Nazareth Village

The earliest form of presses was through a weight system, with three 600 pound weights hung from the cross beam. These weights could be lowered to apply more pressure as needed. In the first century BCE a screw system came into being, making the pressing somewhat easier.

Pressure would be applied at different stages to get the maximum amount of oil out. The time needed for full pressing was 24 hours, and so there would usually be two presses to one crusher. In this way while one press was pressing, the other would either be emptied or filled up again.

The Olive Oil

This production process gave three separate qualities of oil. The first, the purest and most expensive, was the only one used for tithing to the Temple. All three qualities were used for food, for fuel, in cosmetics and medicine, to allow all to be able to buy it.

Ancient oil lamp

By far the most common use of olive oil was for lighting. It is so easy for us to forget how blessed we are that all we have to do when it gets dark is to flip the switch. Until not that long ago, if you wanted see in the dark you had to have candles, or as in the case of the Middle East and Southern Europe – oil.

The olives and the oil could and was exported long distances. The oil from Israel was considered one of the finest, and was much sought after. For Israel the olive oil was the golden oil of biblical times.

The Left-overs

The ancient world did not waste. Everything could and was used, and so also with the pulp left over from the pressing. The pips still contained a great amount of oil was excellent for burning in cooking or heating ovens.

The pulp could be used as fertilizer around growing trees and vines. It was often also used in the plaster mixture painted on the walls of houses. This helped to keep away insects. It was also poured over grain to protect it from mice and insects. This as well as lower quality oil was also used eventually for making soaps.

The tree needs to be trimmed occasionally. The wood lends itself beautifully for carving with its soft undulating lines in different hues of brown, and was therefore much in demand for furniture and doors. In the First Temple in Jerusalem the doors to the inner sanctuary were made of olive wood.

Some Places to see Oil Presses
One of the easiest places to see an olive press in its original location is within the grounds of Capernaum.
For the slightly more off the beaten track traveler, Tel Maresha in the Beit Guvrin area has a beautiful example of a restored olive press. In the Talmudic town of Katzrin on the Golan Heights there is also a fine restored olive press.