Syedra Unearthed as Ancient Olive Oil Powerhouse

(MENAFN) Archaeological digs at the 3,000-year-old Syedra settlement, located roughly 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) east of Alanya in Türkiye’s Antalya province, reveal that the city functioned as a major olive oil production center during the Hellenistic and Roman eras.

Excavators have already uncovered nearly 20 workshops, with more than 100 identified across the site.

Scholars suggest these discoveries demonstrate that Syedra was not merely a local producer but one of the Mediterranean’s principal suppliers in antiquity, overturning earlier views of its economic significance.

The project is being conducted by Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University under the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s “Heritage for the Future” initiative, which intensified efforts after systematic excavations began in 2019.

Speaking to a news agency, excavation director Professor Ertug Ergurer emphasized the industrial scale of the findings.

He stated: "Through excavations, we have uncovered nearly 20 olive oil workshops. Beyond that, we have identified over 100 such workshops across the entire ancient city. This indicates very intensive olive oil production here."

Researchers note that nearly every building in Syedra contains an olive oil or other production facility beneath it, with large storage jars known as “pithoi” used to preserve the oil.

Ergurer highlighted the unusual placement of these facilities: "The presence of olive oil workshops within the city was intriguing for us. Typically, production occurs outside the city, beyond the walls. Here, however, they are under nearly every building, which is noteworthy. This shows that olive oil production was carried out on a massive scale."

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