Farmer stumbles on Roman artifact — weighing over 6,000 pounds — in Spain, photo shows
While working in a field in Spain, a farmer stumbled on a massive ancient Roman artifact, officials said. Millennia later, the artifact is still relevant.
The farmer was uprooting an olive tree in a grove near Baena and accidentally uncovered the huge stone relic, El Día de Córdoba reported on July 1.
The artifact has a roughly circular shape, a photo shared by the Baena Town Hall shows. At least three large grooves, possibly cracks, run down its side. A circular track is carved into the top, giving it the appearance of an upside-down mushroom with its stalk cut too short.
The worn stone is an ancient Roman mill used for pressing olives into olive oil, town officials said in a news release.
These types of olive oil mills, known as a trapetum, originated in Greece and spread throughout the ancient Roman empire, El Día de Córdoba reported. Workers ground the olives with a second piece that fit inside the bowl-like groove and could be rotated with a long stick.
The oil mill is about 3 feet tall and about 4 feet across, Diario Córdoba reported. It weighs about 6,600 pounds.
Archaeologist José Antonio Morena said the mill stone was about 2,000 years old, the outlet reported. The relic indicates that Baena’s olive groves were already being cultivated, harvested and exported during ancient Roman times, Morena said.
Millennia later, Baena still thrives on olive oil production, according to the town hall. The city is surrounded by olive groves and even boasts an Olive Grove and Oil Museum dedicated to the crop’s local history.
The oil mill will be restored, analyzed and moved to the Municipal Historical Museum of Baena, town officials said.
Baena is in Córdoba province and about 230 miles southwest of Madrid.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from and website of the Baena Town Hall and articles from El Día de Córdoba and Diario Córdoba.
This story was originally published July 2, 2023 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Farmer stumbles on Roman artifact — weighing over 6,000 pounds — in Spain, photo shows."
