AgRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN HELLENISTIC gREECE 197
The remaining fruits and nuts represent seasonal gathering to complementthe diet of the inhabitants of the site, obtained by exploiting a variety of micro-
environments extending from the lowlands to the foothills of Olympus and
beyond. Some trees, such as almonds and figs, could have been cultivated in
orchards. Nuts would have been stored for long periods and their shells utilised
for fuel, optimising in this way the use of their by-products.
Most of the plant remains typically come from contexts such as floors andhearths, destruction layers and pits. They mainly represent secondary or even
tertiary depositions – waste products from various household activities, such as
processing, cooking or consumption, which ended up in the fires of the estate
and were thus preserved. The assemblage from the tower is broadly similar to
the rest of the material and therefore cannot be of much use for the identifi-
cation of the specific role of the tower at Platania.
Last, but most important, olive is the dominant crop at the site as it is foundin almost every sample (for a review of the evidence for olive cultivation in
ancient Greece, see Foxhall 2007 ). According to Margaritis and Jones (2008a;
2008b) the olive remains, especially those found in great quantities disposed
in pits in the courtyard, represent the residues of olive oil production. The
samples reflect the by-products of very ‘gentle’ milling, involving a method
that leaves a good fraction of the stones uncrushed. Residues of olive oil and
by-products of fruit consumption are more likely to be used as fuel on a reg-
ular basis, which may explain the abundance of olive remains. The use of olive
as fuel is mirrored in the samples deriving from the kiln. Olive stones are very
good for both cooking and firing as they burn slowly while producing a small
amount of smoke but plenty of charcoal. They are also useful as a domestic
fuel (Brun 2003 :183), evident from the olive remains used as fuel at the various
rooms of the house at Platania.
Olive products can fulfil a wide range of needs. Olive fruits may be eatenraw, although usually they are processed to remove their bitter taste. Both
green (gathered immature) and black olives when treated in brine are trans-
formed into a nutritious food, easy to prepare and easy to carry, suitable for
a storage period of up to five years. Olive oil production residues were used
as fodder, fuel and fertiliser. The liquid residue, amurca, was used in various
ways: as fertiliser, insecticide, wool-preserver, water-proofer, skin-curer, lubri-
cant and tonic for animals (Amouretti 1986 : 189–92). Considering all these
uses, olive products would have been used in a variety of ways all year round by
the occupants of Platania, making olive cultivation a very important element
in the economy of the site.
As in the case of wine-making at Kompoloi, no installations connected withthe production of olive oil were found at the site. The lack of such installa-
tions could again be explained by their location in the fields; the whole range