13/12/2014

7,500-year-old underwater village may have been oldest olive oil production center in the world | Ancient Origins

13 DECEMBER, 2014 - 00:46 LIZLEAFLOOR

7,500-year-old underwater village may

have been oldest olive oil production
center in the world
An underwater excavation site off of Haifa, Israel, has revealed a 7,500-year-old water well and Neolithic
village. The finds are from a pre-metal and pre-pottery settlement that lived on the Kfar Samir site. This
lost Levantine village is now 5 meters (16 feet) underwater due to prehistoric sea-level rise, drowning
out what may have been the oldest olive oil production center of the world.
The research team from Flinders University in Australia, Israels University of Haifa and theIsrael
Antiquities Authority, has been excavating the submerged structures in the area and using leadingedge photogrammetry, in the hopes of gleaning insights into the ancient society that once thrived there;
what they ate, how they hunted, and who they traded with.

data:text/html;charset=utf-8,%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22field-image%22%20style%3D%22margin%3A%200px%3B%20padding%3A%200px%3B%20border

1/3

13/12/2014

7,500-year-old underwater village may have been oldest olive oil production center in the world | Ancient Origins

Dr. Benjamin (left) and the Haifa University team clear away sands at the excavation site. Credit: J.
McCarthy.
The well is thought to have supplied fresh water to the village. According to Flinders University maritime
archaeologist Jonathan Benjamin, Water wells are valuable to Neolithic archaeology because once they
stopped serving their intended purpose, people used them as big rubbish bins. Once sea levels began
to rise the fresh well water became salty, and the villagers used it instead for their refuse, throwing in
animal bones and food scraps.
This is superb for archaeologists because it means we can look through the refuse of prehistoric
societies including animal bones, plant fibers and tools to see how these ancient civilizations lived,
how they hunted and what they ate, Benjamin says.
Science and research website Phys.org reports that core sample results from the Kfar Samir site will
give a clearer picture on the early Mediterranean diet, and the trade of the village. Researchers are
expecting to find stone tools rather than metal, and needles made of bone, as well as seeds, plant
fibers, and other organic material.
Benjamin notes that the location may have been the oldest olive oil production center of the world,
based on previous excavations. A study in the Journal of Archaeological Science describes the
thousands of crushed olive stones and early olive-oil production technology found in pits at the
prehistoric site in the 1990s.

data:text/html;charset=utf-8,%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22field-image%22%20style%3D%22margin%3A%200px%3B%20padding%3A%200px%3B%20border

2/3

13/12/2014

7,500-year-old underwater village may have been oldest olive oil production center in the world | Ancient Origins

A water well submerged at the Kfar Samir archaeological site. Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority
Leading-edge photogrammetry was used by the research team and Wessex Archaeology, in developing
a mosaic of photographs, and a 3-D model of the well. Photogrammetry, determining measurements
and exact positions using photographs, is not a new science, however its use is expanding into new
underwater frontiers. Benjamin describes the technique in a statement, writing that its not just about
creating a pretty picture for maritime archaeologists its a tool that we can use to study the site and
make archaeological interpretations. We can spend a few minutes under water, but hours on land
analysing the material in very fine detail.
To archaeologists and historians, the Levantine coasts contribution to the worlds ancient history is vital.
Research will continue on this and other ancient sites off Haifa, as sea levels continue to change over
time, and more prehistoric areas and ancient finds are revealed.
Featured image: Diver at Atlit Yam well, another ancient submerged Neolithic site off the coast of Haifa,
Israel. Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority
By Liz Leafloor

data:text/html;charset=utf-8,%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22field-image%22%20style%3D%22margin%3A%200px%3B%20padding%3A%200px%3B%20border

3/3