Changing perspectives on roller presses in Late Antique Northern Syria

There has long been a widespread view that the economy of the North Syrian limestone massif in Late Antiquity was largely based on the production of olive oil. Over the years, however, it has become clear that the archaeological evidence to support this view is ambiguous in all senses. While certain installations are definitively large oil presses, a particular category of presses that used stone rollers in processing was most likely involved in the production of wine, rather than olive oil. The archaeological and literary evidence hereby points in particular towards the existence of a large-scale industry of sweet wine made from semi-dried grapes; a beverage whose production in the region was facilitated through particularly favorable environmental conditions and the practising of low-lying vine growing.