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Click to enlarge.
I was so busy with the opening of my new etsy store this week that I nearly missed this week's Monochrome Weekly. (I also still haven't quite wrapped my head around the idea that it goes live on Saturday now, not on Sunday. What can I say, I'm apparently a very slow learner...)
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We took advantage of some gorgeous weather yesterday to visit Tel Aviv's Eretz Israel Museum (which I would have enjoyed even more if the rest of the cretins who share my last name wouldn't have complained quite so much about being bored). This ancient olive press is one of many on its grounds. It would have had a giant wooden beam through it which would have been pushed around in a circle (often by an animal) to roll the stone and crush the olives. You can see an recreation of an ancient olive press on the museum's website.
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Of course our own little olive tree (a sapling growing in a pot on our patio) only gave seven olives this year (yes, seven, I didn't leave out any zeros) so I doubt we'd have much use for a press like this.
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Edited to add a link to Dina's fascinating post over at Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo about how olive oil is produced today.
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23 comments:
It's beautiful (I'm glad you told us what it is!)
That's an interesting shot. I don't think I've ever seen an olive press. I hope you get more olives next year.
You can be proud of your young tree. That's 7 more olives than our big ones gave this year.
The olive press is so imPRESSive.
In the early 70s I'd take my little son to that museum. All he ever wanted to do there was play on the old locomotive from the Hijaz Railway. I always said that when the kids were grown up I would go back and really see the museum, alone. It never happened. Yet.
Yeah, great weather, eh?
Very cool shot and interesting history! I've never seen or heard of an olive press before.
Very wonderful and interesting testimony.
7 olives = 7 martini's!
Hi Robin, I have no clue what the olive press was until I checked the museum's website! It could get quite a squeeze of oil from this enormous one!
Thanks for this informative post!
Excellent photo. Perfectly suited to B&W and showing off the mass and lovely textures of this ancient stone.
Wow...so interesting. I'd love to go over there. *sigh*...probably not in this life. :)
This is so cool. I have read about olive pressing but never seen the equipment. I'm certain the modern way is more sanitary but it is probably less satisfying to the soul.
How wonderful it must be to live in Israel. You have so much living history there.
If you adopt me I will not complain ;-) Very interesting shot.
Guess olive pressing requires something a little more substantial than the feet used in some wine pressing operations.
Well 7 olives is more than I'll ever grow in Irish weather!
Love the bit in small font about those people who share your surname, I know how you feel!
I am in heaven--olive heaven! You have posted two trees and an oil press, and Quilly just posted another tree. I think it's wonderful! Call me weird, I don't mind...
So this is an instrument of virgin sacrifice, eh? Extra virgin sacrifice in fact. (I always wondered how that worked. Seems like a binary kind of deal. You is or you ain't... there's not really an extra credit question on the test. I digress.)
Okay, okay... enough with the bad virgin jokes. It's a marvelous photo Robin, and don't feel bad about not being used to the day change... I'm still getting my head around the name change from Monochrome Monday. But I'm old and stubborn and set in my ways.
Beautiful shot. I had never seen Olive Press before.
Seven what goes with seven, snow white....lol
Lovely old stone wheel looks very at home in mono....
I love this shot. I love the geometric shapes of the press and black and white suits it perfectly!
I learned something because of your post. I really appreciate it, I even visit the website you mentioned. Thanks.
I really like all the textures in this picture.
An olive press? How interesting. I'm off to Dina's to find out more.
Going to museums with family can be so distracting!
Monday was truly the day I would like to never repeat again .. up to my flat tush in insanity so I missed this .. its excellent!
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