OIL AND WINE PRODUCTION IN ISTRIA AND

DALMATIA IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY AND

THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
The eastern coast of the Adriatic comprises, north to south,
the
Liburnia, Dalmatia a.nd }lontenegro. It wai populated by a variety regions of Istria,
of tribes, most of
which belonged to the Illyrian Jthni. g.9r! (excludinf'the
.Ir'istri and possibly the
Li.burn): Delmalae, Ardiaei, Daorsi, Plaeiei, boileari, Lafieati.
The first e'ident contacts
with the classical civilizalion occurred after the ntrr cenlurj B.c.
with the Greek colonisation (lssa, Pharos, Korltgra, Heraclei, etc.). The Roman
c;nquest slarted at the end of
the.3rd century B.C. with lhe gradual submission of single
tribes and the repression of the
indigenous piratical ."onotny. Until the Augustan p."rioa
fhe whole Eastern Adriatic
legion was part of the Illyrian province (Ittgicum). Augustus transferred the frontier of
Italy in Istria to the river Arsia so that tire greater part 6f I.t.i, formed
part of the Italic
Regio X
Venelia et Histria. Almost at th'e same time Iligricum was
divided
into two
provinces, Dalmalia and Pannonia. The coast was later
adniinistered by the Byzantines,
was conquered by the East Goths and then by the
Franks. Between the 7th and the llth
century Dalmalia was the cradle of the Croatian stafe (kingdom
from g2b)but the coastal
towns gradually fell into the hands of the Venetian nepiltic.
With the exception of a few narrow regions, the whole Eastern
Adriatjc coast is
mountainous, rocky and unhospitable, althoigh its hundreds
of islands and islets with
Lhousands.of bays ind coves offered marvelous"protection
to ships travelling along it. At
the same time, the region was very suitable for oliv-e and g.ape
growing. In fact, owing to
its meagre soil, these lwo agricultlral items formed the nicleus
of a su-bslstence economy
together with small-scale.fruit a,nd vegetable growing. olive
irees and vines were probably in^troduced (or domesticated) in laier Prot6histort times with
the colonisation-rr.
of the
first Greek settlers (from the 6lh century B.c, onwards) : unfortunately,
tt.r.
no
archaeological traces of wine
and oil
producing faciiities either in Greek colonies or
indigenous settlements' After -the final Roman
conquest and pacification in the Augustan
p:t]9d'
a rapid development of production and trade took place
:

it

followed

the inclusion
of the..most important ports (the colonies of. Salona, Ep'idautrum,
liarona, Iader, pola,
Parenlium) in long-distance travel and commerce. The territories
of the Dalmatian colonres were Itot exceptionally wide (Sa/ona around 100
centuriae, Iader : 70, Epidaurlts :

ROBERT MATIJASIE

248

IBCH SuPPl. XXVI

numerous islands were noL densel-v

the remaining stretches o,f tle coast ancl Lhe
wholly different picture : it is a lowpopulated. The westein coast of Istria prlse'ts a
fou*ded two colonies (Pola and
lying region with a well-inde't*d "oa.t. it,e Romans like 1700 cettturiaez:this facl
Parenlium) ancl divided Lheir territories into somelhing
of population and lhe agricultural.character
alone would be enough to prove the densiLy
along the western coast and in its hi'terof the region. euout*ibo"rilr"i ,ti". ".. r.no*n
lancl (some 10 km from the coastB)'

b0 1) and

I.

ISTRIA

to by more [han one ancient wriler :

The quality of olive oil from Istria is attested
pliny
H.15,9 (Principatum in hoc quoquebono oblinuit
the most famoiis quotation is
^l ..",,it'qui^ cerlimen inter Hislriae terrae et Belicae
Italia e loto orbe
Var' 12' 22-26)' This'
^tr\;;-;;;o-Vr,oirono
u*.ti"'r, 12, 6i, p""niti' l0' 32' 19' Cass'
par est)(See also
oil production in
olive
of
the importance
together witn arcnaeJlofi"trl.*ri.r, ittu.it"t"s
Isiria, and its trade in the surrounding regtons'
shown that in the territory of
A recent partial revision of topog"rifii."r a"t, has, there are 50 sites with known
peninsula)
Colottia Iulia Pola(the southern tip of tt e'tstrian
Abbut 30 sites are registered in the remaior possible remains;i;tl:;;;;;;.iitg t".liities'
some 15 o/o.are known in their entirety'
ning part of the *..i.* ioast. of"these, only
or another during the last 100 years' The
having been completely excavated a.t "n. ti*.
that this
is not always up to one's expectations so
graphic and descripliJ.
excavations
"pp"r"tus
otherwise be quite usefuj' The first
survey lacks a rot oi-a.i"irlr'*r,l"r, *orli
*t,.n gtoup of -ten sites were explored' Some
date back to the beginning of the ..nturyi
of" ihe nobility' built on the nicest spots
of Lhem were rural palaces, luxurious .ltrtats
along Lhe coast'
.
, ,-!^:-- r^r-:- r^lt inln oo.rp.ql cnt,eEories accorTopographicaldataonoilandwineplarrtsirrlstria'fallintoseveralcategorie
building. A lot of sites are known only from
ding to the degree oi r.,ro*ruage of the *f,;l;
u'ui in the processsing' Since the main
the remains of tfru-rton" p"tt"t of Lhe. *r.ttintt
bases of press-beds s[antions of' arbores
elements of the oil and wine-presse, lrnrrrn"ttud
were often iemoved to be reused in other
and sliplles) were made of stone, these blocks
(a seccorr)' The same applies to millconstructions or enclosures (walls without mortar
These Jinds are only surface signs of an
stones and mill-beds that belonged to oiipt.ttts'
ttpical surface fincls (pottery, parts of walls
oil or wine pt"nt oii.n associatel *ith ;tfr;;
and cisterns)'
visible. today on the surface in silu :
ln a few instances, the stone parts of presses are.
where the erosion pioves to be an efficient'
this is mostly lrue of sites along tt-te coait
surrounding soil.
often much too ernciunt, means"of clearing.the
of oil 6r wine producLion facilities
The next group of finds co'sists oi ?lements
so that the whole building cannot be
excavaled during small-scale rescue work
(l)

Surc (1976), l0l-102.

(?) Bunr.ono (1957).
(3) Msrr.rrsrt (1988).
(4) Gnrns (1908).

OIL AND WINE PRODUCTION IN ISTRIA AND DALMATIA

lee3l

249

reconstructed. This may be due to fragmentary excavaLion or to fragmentary conservation of the siLe (destruction due to a variety of reasons)'
The last group of sites comprises those buildings which have beeu excavated compleas
tely or nearly"so.'ihis includ", thorc in which the productive section has been explored
*hol", indlpenclently of the residential section of the building.

"

l. l.

Villae on Brioni Island.

(Brioni) :
Of these, the two most remarkable examples are on lhe island of Brijuni
to the
according
built
were
Both
one on a hill named Kolcis, the other in Dobrika Bay6'
production
fhe
in
used
rooms
other
and
same plan : three wings with oil-presse magazines
process around a quadrangular yard.
' The building bn Itolc-i hill -(fig. 1) has a room with the remains of four presses' a
olives
channel for the draining of oil (oi r-ather wine as no traces of mills for crushing the
could
which,
store-room
huge
and
a
basin
were found) to a masoiry-buili quadrangular
tiles
of
small
made
circular,
gti
are
(areae)
ao!a. tt. ptu.-t-leds
have contained about
(spicae:11 x9x2cm)astherestofihefloor.Eachpresshadastonewithtwoquadranwas fixed'
gular recesses for the piacing of wooden uprighls (arbores).ou which Lhe lever
of
the winmounting
in
the
used
system
the
about
The extant documentation is silent
We can then
dlass. There is no trace either of counterweights or a floor mounted winch'
use of counterassume that in Istria, as in Dalmatia, there is no existing proof of the
weights.
The producLive uillaexplored in Dobrika nav (fig.2)is the first phase.in..!1u developIt is also
ment of the site, upon which an Early Medieval Lort (castrunr/ was later builtT'
adapted
and
slightly more complicated because some parts-_seem lo hav.e been added
lhree
with
rooms
neir"een the original building and the Castium, We recognize two sets of
store
Lhree
are
presses each : oie has a serie"s of quadrangular basins on..both sides' There
two
into
them
,oo-, recognizable for the single line of columns or pillars that divided
regarpreseuL
parts. As tfris site has not yet been properly published,.we cannol
"d:ti]:
Hill' the
hing rhe technology usecl in the processof producing oil and wine. As on Kolci
level of
the
below
floors
yard
had
the
.ooir. between the press-beas ana the corridor of
is
mounting
or
counlerweight
windlass
the surrounding rooms : again no trace of a
was
it
(cislern)
as
reservoir
water
the
be
visible. The constructiol in"side the yard must
from the surplaced in a position to collec[ the gieatest possible amount of rain-water
Dalmatia
and
Istria
in
countryside
the
in
rounding l"oof. , nearly every Romr'n nuitaing
Karst
these
in
waters
way
flowing
as
ttris
in
had to resolve the dri'nking-water problem
regions are quite rare.
of presses'
Moreover, we must mention here the Lhree rather well-preserved examples
(4th-7th
cenperiod
post-Classical
the
in
use
in
scattered on the same site, which were
fortified
Roman
Late
the
to
belong
press,
tury). They, as well as a fourth partl.v destroyed
.

(b)

Collisi : GNrns (1908), 134-136.

(6)
(7)

Val Madonna : Mr.rxrn (1975-1976).

Mrex*n

(1975-1976).

IBCH Suppl. XX\/I

Fig. t.

Itolci IIill.

I
a

Fig. :1.

(lervar Porat

I
a
a
a

A
o#

l0

20

?.

Dobrika Bar' Oast.r'um.

OIL AND WINE PRODUCTION IN ISTRIA AND DALMATI.{

le93l

25I

settlement (castrum) which encompassed the Classical villae. The presses were built in
houses which were erected inside Lhe uitta courtyard :all three are near the parapet that
separated the settlement from Lhe sea (the strongly built wall protected the settlement
from the land side). The presses, not connected one to another, are of the same type, each
in a different room, but ihey differ in construction details. All three have a quadrangular
press-bed made of a monoliihic slab, with a small basin for decantation of the fluid. The
windlass was supported by two stone blocks (stipites) anchored in a recess in the ground,
a hole with masbnry-buili sides. The distance between the support of the arbores (lapides
pedicini) and the slone slipi les (rvhich is practicaly the length of the beam) is between 8
and l0 m. One monolithic-base of Lhe trapetum (diam. more than 2 m)was found near one
of the presses. It is impossible to elaborate further on the subject of these presses as the
essential details have not yet been published.
Another site on the isiands of Brijuni (Brioni) with remains of pressing facilities, is
that of Lhe uilla of Val Calena (VerigJ Bay) : it rvas excavated at the beginning of the
cenfury e. In its eastern half the large cella is easily recognizable : it had a basin into
which Lhe fluid was drained from the adjacent press-room by means of a channel. The
presses were not preserved. Near this set of rooms, there is another group of two rooms'
Ine with two, thl other with three pillars. It cannot be excluded that this be another
pressing facility : if the first was for wine (see the analogotts cella in Kolci Hill and
bobriki Bay), ihis could be used for olive oil : the two small rooms near the possible
press-room could have been a kitchen with a stove for hot waterl0. Unfortunately' no
remains of presses are recorded, but it seems obvious that the uilla had all that was
and wine production'
needed lor both oil

l. 2. Villae in Istria.
A remarkable example of an oil-producing plant of the Classical period in Istria is
the building in Barbarig" tt it has not been completely explored but excavations in the
'
bOs have uncovered r io.rg line of presses in pairs on both sides of the stone bases for
arbores (fig.4). There were-probabli 20 presses (in l0 pairs) in the period of maximum
activity o-i th. plant but two different draining channels can clearly be distinguished
leading to two sets of magazines : one (G) in the form of simple reservoirs, the olher (D)
with Jariously built basins (two groups of quadrangular, stone builL receptacles of an
earlier period jfour superposed moiolitiric stone circular vessels). Because a base for a mill
has been found in ,'.oorn near the presses! there can be no doubt that olive oil was
produced in Barbariga. Unfortunately the store-rooms have not yet been discovered:
given the number of presses, we can expect their dimensions to be considerable and this
building really illustrates the importance of olive oil production in Istria'
Th-ere is yet another example of an almost completely excavated oil-processing building, in Cervar Porat near Porec 12. The economic section is fairly well preserved (fig. 3)
(8) Mrlxrn (1975-1976).
(9) Gnras (1908).
(10) GNrns (1908), I37-139.

(ll)

Mrrr.r.rsri (1982), 58-59.

(12) Juaxrc (1981), 84-88.

252

ROBERT MATIJASIC

IBCH Suppl.

XX\/l

Fig. 1.

Barbariga.

and is composed of three groups of rooms : two with presses, one with draining channels
and basins. In the first press-room (E), the circular press-beds are made of ceramic tiles
(spicae) as is the whole floor with the exception of the two corresponding monoliths for
fixirig the wooden uprights at the head of the lever (prelum).In a corner, Lhere are clear
.u-"ins of an oil-mill (ieveral fragmented and whole mill-stones were found on the site :
they are all cylindrical with a quadrangular central hole). In Lhe second press-room the
preises are less rvell preserved. It seems, however, thaL the press-beds (areae) were quairangular and madg of stone. The space, rvhere one must presume the position of the
n1ountitlg for the pressure device to have been, is again belou' the level of the press-room
floor. And there is no trace of the mechanism. The two pairs of presses are connected by a
single drain made of tiles in the first room, of carved stone blocks in the second. The
draln, probably led to the group of lhree vessels, Lhree dolia cut horizontally at the belly
in ordel'to be used for the settling of oil : these adapted dolia rvere built into a stone base
so as to fix their rim at a normal working level'

1. 3. Technology used in Istria.

So much for the best preserved oil plant sites in Istria. There are many more sites
rvith onl"v fragmentary information on various details concerning the machinery used in
or wine-presses, onlv in 8 cases do we
the procLss. Ot tt",u 7O sites with elements of oil
have finds of mills or mill-stones. Onl.v mills give us the certaint'y, beyond an.v reasonable

doubt, of an oil-producing plant but in many other cases thel' might not have survived'
AnoLher element of certainty, very rare in our regions so far, is the find of carbonized
olive pi[s, a llnd that occurred in the western press-room of Lhe uilla it"t Dobrika Bay on
Brijuni island,
Of the 9 knorvn mills, rve have been able to record the measurements of four of
them : fhev are of the mola olearia type (fig. 5 : Pula) except one rvhich seems Lo belong to

253

OIL AND WINE PRODUCTION IN ISTRIA AND DALMATIA

leesl

E
Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

Pula : molo olearia.

)iegrin.

?nr

IlH-,

050
rgl

L----jI
0#
Fig. 7.

Fie. 9.

Lakuza.

Stone vessels used as basins.

Fig. 8.

5o

100

Vodnjan : Press-bed.

ii

r__J
-

\\

Fie. 10.

Galizana : base for arbores.

ROBERT MATIJASIC

2b4

IBCH SuPPl. XXVI

diameter of the former is mainly around

the class (rouleaux et cuves)) (frg'7)13' The
the
2meters(1,95m',2,24m',1,70-2'00--'.' tiipti"tllC"'\'"'Porat)thedimensionsof
none
are all cylindrical in shape so that
latter are l,0o x 0,85 m (Barbariga). uitt-siJnes Porat, iwo in Magornjak'.on' in Fizela
h c.rt".
belongs to the rroprtu^'.f5.ru "rJttru.
varies from 80 to
porec
r..ona-"ry
,
ln
fosition..Th.[ diameter varies
found
pula,
one near
near
from 13 to
The width
g0 cm and the quadrangular hole i, u.u*tt-i*Z"O-ltt; wide'
te; made
40 cm,
sites : circu]ar (fig. 10 : Galizana
Istriart
in
press-beds
of
types
trvo
There are
m)
floo.r (diamefer around l'70-1'90
of ceramic tiles Isplcoel like the entrre;;;;.-too; blocks (sides from l'b0 to 2'20 m
*;;;;i-slone
and quadrangular (fi;."6;'v;nlan'u)
,tone blocks tend io be found on the surface'
U.."u..
long) The latLer are l-.t|", known
;;; all around the four sides with a beak for
sometimes reused : they have a channel

draining

t: o:.l9.
0".., ror rhe arbores (tapides pedicin.i)
ll:-press-beds
(normally
two recesses
with
iottg
I
(fig.8): these .to.t"''iiotrt' a'e u'uatt' i'iO -'z'zO
The
fixing Lhe wooden uprights (fig' 7 : Lakuza)' was
around 45 x 45cm, 15 in depth) for
int *iatn of t"n" lever beam which
distance between the recesse. ,orr.rponit"to
kind of' lapides pedicini has smaller
placed between trr.*"t".t"iil;;;fu'40';;iA;"ther
oi ,ilout 90 cm between them (fig' 6 : Negrin)
recesses (15 x t5 cm) with a distance

::":fflJ,:il,

thesewerethebasesforthestipites.uppo,t,ofthewindlass.Sofar,theyhaveneverbeen
found fn silu.
..
,, r--.:r. ^r ^*^' i.nporrlrr st.ones with a
so
Thebasinsforthesettlingofoilareusuallybuilt.of.smallirregularstones
often placed atone end of the storeroom
are
layer of tight waterpr""i-*"*?r..They,are
unfrequent
magazine fot dolia' Not
tn. *iairr
(fig' 16)'
rhar rheir lengrh ;i;;;;.;;'io
"ithe
usirally 2 meters in diameter
ii".r.
a single .i"r.
circular vessers ,r;;;i;;;
to only in Cervar Porat'
while the use of .d;;;t;-aiio i' a'ttested
has been found up to now and
As regards Lhe presses in Istria, r"t;;;;;n[erweight
in Iitria' It is also interesting to note
there are no signs oi tr,. use of direct-scriew fr"r.r.
but appear in Late Antifttioa
'Cast'um of Brijunirz' mentioned
that stone uprigt,ts *ere not ,red he.a';"d;"Al;ti;'i
(fre"'l;i'; tna *tt
in the
quiry in t*o urba,i ,t;; '^tV;; ;um
for fhe windlass were placed in a recess
above. In both cases, the stone upright?
technological
used
this will be a frequently
ground so as to increase the path of the lt"t' '
iolution in Dalmatia
r^,,-ri in aq room
rr which was ortgrl'rally the
were found
Ilesactium
in
oi"
remain.
The
0r...
activity was a
so ih"t it is clear that the pressing
baihs
the
lthermorT,
praefurniumof
published'
the remains were only superficially
was
secondary use of tlrt roo*. Unfortunately'
th-elress
tl.tt
o-nly::i'
: we.can
withcertainty
established
be
can
in
datation
no
life
and
oi Nisactium urban
use of ii'"-tiu^o' and the end
d;;;;i;e
between
erected
ii."r.i.t. of a quadrangular area with a forum(in
611 (it was destoyea
""a "ir^aoned).

(13) Bnux (1986)' 69-70'

itai Gnt*. (1914), 182-183'

ilSi Mnttrn.te (1987)' 120'
(16) PuscHr (1905).

itzi M'.n*^" (1975-1976)'

OIL AND WINE PRODUCTION IN ISTRIA AND DALMATIA

r9931

255

rr

Fig. 11.

Lakuza.

the sense of Cato, Agr. 18)According to the ground planls, the beam pressing mech.anism
was supported by more tian one v;rtical stantion, but nothing remains in place today,
and the stone blocks seem to have disappeared.

2. DALMATIA
In Dalmatia, the number of sites with remains of presses or related finds amounts to
about 30. In comparison with Istria, the different picture stems from a different
approach to archaeological excavations. Rural siLes (uillae rusticae), probably. not so
nu*..ou, as along the istrian coast, have not been explored in great numbers' There are
few rural agricultural buildings with more than one pressing machine : one exception
with five pri.... is in Muline Jn tit. island of Ugljan nai Zadarts (fi$. l4), another with
two presses in Sv. petar near Bijacizo (fig. 13 :Solin). Most agricultural buildings seem to
were
have been either centers of smail land-holdings or installations where oil and wine
21,
Korn-ear
island
Majsan
produced in small quantities for local needs only : Mogorjelo
and
Hvar
on
positions
cula22, Blato on Korcula2s, Kupinovik on Hvar2a. A number of
(18) Pus*rr (1905), Pl. lll,
(19) Surc (1960 and I976).
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)

l.

Jerrc (1896-1897).
Bonxovsxr (1969).
Frsxovrd (1984).
Onee (1988-1989).
ZrnrNovre (1982); Snnrc (1978).

IBCH Suppl. XXVI

ROBERT NIATIJASIC

256

o_
[[\
^l

ooou..'
o0u

ol
ol

Fig. l?.

Fig. l,{.

Fig. 13.

Nesactiunt

N'luline

in Ugljan.

Sv. Petar

Fig. 15.

I(astel Gonrilila'

OIL AND WINE PRODUCTION IN ISTRIA AND DALMATIA

19931

257

Brac.areonly presumed sites of oil and wine plants25. Many of these sites have not been
published in a definitive manner so that in many cases, we do not have the ground plans
at our disposal. Similarlv, the descriplions are usually very superficial, wlthout much

detail.
The best known example of an oil-producing villa in Dalmatia is certainly Muline 26.
The ground-plan (fig. 14), iately published ry sirie 2?, shows a.group of rooms around
a
courtyard. Among th.--, Suic recognizes all the necessarv elements for an oil plant :
store-rooms for olives, basins for washing, an olive-mitl, small basins near the press-beds,
a storeroom for oil, wiLh dolia and amphorae. ln the available ground-plan, tire form or
t^VRe of presses is not recognizable : the press-beds are drawn as *e.r quadrangles.
Of the
five presses, two might have had the windlass anchored with stone uprigh"ts inside a
reoess in the ground. I have not been able to verify the plan in silu, because recent war
activities against Croatia in late l99l have made parts of Dalmatia inaccessible.
- There is a group of finds of presses (probably oil-presses) associaled with some of the
famous PaleochrisLian and Byzantine sacred monuments in and around Salona28. First
there is the press belonging to the archibishop's quarter in fown near the Lwin basilicae in
the north-western corner of the (Jrbs noua oiienlatis2e : its shape cannot be established,
b-ut it probably was of the lever type. The lorcular just outside ihe cemeterial complex at
Manastirine is shown without any detail of the general ground plan s0 : the orea and
<forum) was on a raised platform with two stone uprighbs for the windlass below it. The
best documented press is that outside the cemetery af Kapljucsr : it is of the same type
as thaL in ManasLirine. Another oil press of the same type was found near the Forumsz
and it must also be dated from the Early Middle Ages.-Only a few years ago, another
press was found outsi de a horreun west of the theatress. In Diocletian's palace in Split,
an oil press was installed in one of the cellar rooms in the western wingse (hg. f6). Finally
traces of a press exist inside the fortified monastical complex of Crikvine on-a hill outsidl
Salona 36' Most of these oil presses were part of the eccleliastical economy in the bth-6th
century as the Church was the owner of lands with olive trees and vines and both liquids
were_noL only part, of the normal diet but were used in the liturgy as wells6.
Regarding those presses in Dalmatia whose technological details are easily recogni,.
zable, most seem to belong to the lever and winch type with slightly recessed stone
uprights. This is true of the Classical and Early l\{edieval period. Becauie the press-beds
were on a higher level, they are often badly damaged and it is difficult to estatlish their
shape (sv. Petar, Mogorjelo) : in two cases, they seem to be circular (fig. 15 : Kastel

(25)
(26)
(27)
(28)

ZexrNovre (t966 and lg67),

Surc (1960. 1976 and l98l).
Surc (t981), ZSB.

CEcr (t9BJ), 227 -284.

(29) Dvccvr (l9bl), B0; Gsnsrn (1917), t0g-104.

(30) Eccrn (t926).

(31) Bnorvosrno (t928), a0-al.

(32) RnNorc Mrocrvre (l9bB).
(33) Krnrcrn et atii (1987). tb.
(34) Mrn,rsovrc (1984).
(35) Dvccvr (l9bl), fig. III-20.
(36) Dvccvn (l9bl). 30: Nrxor,r.rer.rc (t979).

IBCH Suppl. XXVI

ROBERT MATIJASIC

258

b1
Fig. 16.

Split Diocletian's

palace'

possible
Gomilica near Split, Manastirine). Mills are not known with the exception of a
wall in
a
along
(rouleaux et cuvesrr type (Sv. Peiar), where an elongated base was found
sometimes
are
the press-room togethe. *itt two cylindrical mill-stones. Other mill-stones
in superficial contexts, Basins for the deposition of
meniioned but on"ly incidentally
"na
oil are mostly buiit as watertight ,.r"rlroirr, sometimes made of stone in the shape of
circular or quadrangular vessels-. They are almost always situated near the elevaLed areae
(Manastirine, Kaste"l Gomilica, Sv. Petar)' so that the draining channels are very short'
No storerooms with dolia are known in Dalmatia'

3. CONCLUSION
The archaeological evidence of oil production in Dalmatia is meagre in comparison
conclusion
wibh the size of the Lerritory suitable for grape and olive growing. The obvious
the other
On
export.
for
scale
industrial
an
produceJon
is:olive oil and wine *ere"not
northern
to
proximity
w.hose
of
Istria
product
hand, they were an important agricultural
made
provinces)
Danube
(land
the
to
routes
Aquilela
of.
Italy andio the commercial towi
throughout
(Dressel
wereJound
68)
Istria
in
produced
it a lucrative activity. Amphorae
Africa'
the Po valley 87,in froricum (Magd^alensbergss), in Ostiase and even in Greece and
(37) Crann (1985).
i38) Eccnn (t969).
(39) Znvt (1967).

lee3l

oIL AND wINE PRoDUCTIoN IN ISTRIA AND DALMATIA

25g

The commercial activity of Dalmatia cannot

be identified in this way : its oil and wine
must have been intended mainly for local markets.
Anyway, although the olive oil and wine producLion
in Istria is fairly well-knewn,
the archaeological tcienc"s in Dalmatia ,titt tr"rr"
a lot to ao in orde. to throw more light
on economic and technological questions regarding
these two typically Mediterranean
products.
similarly' there is still a lot of research to do in the fietd
of medieval and industrial
archaeology as well as ethnography, so that this
review is only an attempt to sketch out
the slalas
maleriae.

Robert Mnrr.rasrc *
(*) Archaeological Museum of Istria, pula,
Croatie.

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