Roman Presses

Torcular - The Lever Press

This lever press is described by Cato as being drawn by ropes or leather thongs (funibus vittisque loreis) wound around a capstan (vectibus). This press uses two massive pillars at either end which anchor the press and a very large beam (prelum) to apply the pressure to the mash. The mash would be placed on the altar (ara), and the pressing stones would be placed on top of the mash. The extracted oil would flow into a collecting jar.

One of the drawbacks of this press is that the pressure exerted by the press is throttled by the amount of pressure that the capstan can withstand. The press seen here was modified to provide a better mechanism for raising and lowering the press beam. The capstan and ropes have been replaced by a screw. In the press at left, the screw is mounted in the floor on one end and into the ceiling beam at the other end. The screw was connected to the floor and ceiling by a nut that allowed the screw to turn but not give way in either direction. One of the design flaws of this device is that the beam would pull against the screw, as it is lowered and pressure is applied to it.

In the press at right, the screw is no longer mounted to the floor. Rather it has a weighted bottom. This makes the press easier to use by preventing the friction the would be caused in its earlier incarnation by lowering the press beam. This version also simplified the tasks of raising and lowering the press beam.

Cochlea - The Screw Press

The screw press utilized the screw technology in the presses above to apply direct pressure to the mash. In the screw , the beam is replaced by a single piece of wood that applies pressure to a series of frames that contain the olive mash. This type of press is much more efficient than the lever press in so far as it allows all of the pressure put on the press beam to be applied directly to the olive mash. The double screw press shown here makes use of two screws that are connected to the base of the press to apply pressure to the frames containing the olive mash. The use of two screws allows for more uniform application of pressure on the mash.

Improvements and variations on the single screw design can also be seen in the "Congeries" press. This press, whose name means the press that "piles things together," used a screw to force the olive mash up against the press beam. This design offers a few advantages over other screw presses. Namely, its can easily be assembled from the parts of an old lever press, without requiring the manufacture of many additional parts.

Since there is a well-attested continuity of use in many excavated oil production sites, the ability to convert a less efficient press to a more efficient one would be very advantageous and necessary.

The Wedge and Beam Press

The wedge and beam press is only known to us from a few wall paintings in Herculaneum and Pompeii. Essentially, it is similar to the screw press except that it uses hammer-driven wedges to create pressure on the mash, which resides in a tray on the bottom of the press. This illustration shows oil pouring forth from the mill in a steady stream.

Unfortunately, their are no literary references to attest to its efficacy.