PYRGOS, Chipre (Reuters) - Es elogiado por sus propiedades culinarias y sanitarias por cualquier cocinero que se precie, pero mucho antes de que el aceite de oliva llegara a la dieta mediterránea los chipriotas lo usaban como combustible para derretir cobre, dicen los arqueólogos.
Italian archaeologist Maria Rosaria Belgiorno points at the remnants of an ancient copper smelter in Pyrgos, Cyprus March 8, 2006. It is praised for its culinary and health properties by any cook worth his salt, but long before olive oil made it into the Mediterranean diet Cypriots used it as a fuel to melt copper, archaeologist say. REUTERS/Andreas Manolis
Investigadores italianos han descubierto que un aceite de oliva no dañino para el medio ambiente se usaba en hornos en un sitio al sur de Chipre hace unos 4.000 años, en lugar del carbón empleado
en la industria durante cientos de años desde entonces.
Descrito como "oro líquido" por el antiguo poeta griego Homero, el aceite de oliva ha estado durante mucho tiempo asociado con los rituales religiosos de los antiguos. Pero no, al menos en el Mediterráneo, con la industria pesada.
A general view of the Pyrgos Mavroraki site in Cyprus, March 8, 2006, where Italian archaeologists say they have uncovered evidence of olive oil being used as an industrial fuel as far back as 2,000 BC. It is praised for its culinary and health properties by any cook worth his salt, but long before olive oil made it into the Mediterranean diet Cypriots used it as a fuel to melt copper, archaeologist say. Photo taken March 8, 2006. To match feature Cyprus-Olives. REUTERS/Andreas Manolis
"Sabemos que el aceite de oliva llegó a nuestra comida alrededor del año 1.000 A.C, pero esta es la primera vez que tenemos pruebas de laboratorio de que era usado para fundir como combustible", contó a Reuters la arqueóloga Maria Rosaria Belgiorno.
Chipre era famoso en la antigüedad por su cobre y se cree que le dio su nombre al término latino para el metal, cuprum.
"Esta es la primera vez que esto ha sido descubierto... y en Europa sólo recientemente la industria se ha volcado en los bíocombustibles. Este aceite quema como benceno", dijo Belgiorno.
Sin embargo, los chipriotas de hoy en día tal vez lo piensen dos veces antes de bombear esa preciosa mercancía. La producción anual promedio de aproximadamente 13.500 toneladas apenas satisface la demanda local y ahora el aceite de oliva se vende por casi cinco dólares el litro, comparado con los 55 centavos del combustible normal.
MARCAS OSCURAS
Se piensa que el emplazamiento de la fundición conocida como Pyrgos Mavroraki era
parte de una unidad industrial mayor que data del año 2.000 A.C, cuando Chipre estaba entre el principio y la mitad de su edad de bronce.
A unos 90 kilómetros al sudeste de la capital Nicosia entre casas de campo, el complejo incluye trabajos de fundición de cobre, instalaciones textiles para tejer y teñir, una bodega y una prensa de aceitunas.
Pruebas realizadas por el Instituto Italiano de Tecnologías Aplicadas al Patrimonio Cultural, para el que Belgiorno trabaja, han descubierto residuos de aceite de oliva en el lugar.
Belgiorno dijo que los investigadores estaban confundidos por el hecho de no encontrar carbón, el combustible más usado en esa época. El carbón permanece intacto a pesar del paso del tiempo, dijo.
"No había zonas de almacenamiento de carbón. Hemos descubierto que para fundir cobre se necesitan cinco kilos de aceite de oliva, comparado con los 80 kilos de carbón", agregó.
Las marcas oscuras en la tierra prensada en el complejo son manchas del aceite usado en los hornos, huellas que
además no desaparecen.
Pero es la primera vez que la ciencia ha probado de manera concluyente que el aceite de oliva fue usado como combustible, afirmó.
Fuente: Por Michele Kambas / © Reuters 2006. 19 de marzo de 2006
(2) DISCOVERIES at
the ancient site of Pyrgos Mavroraki, near Limassol, are revolutionising knowledge of the Bronze Age and have been described as ‘incredible’ by the archaeologist carrying out the work.
Maria Rosaria Belgiorno says that Pyrgos is probably the most important ancient site yet found in Cyprus
Belgiorno told a meeting in Nicosia
The site, Belgiorno said, was an industrial complex producing luxury items such as perfumes and textiles dyed with purple and blue indigo.
The excavations were carried out by a team of scientists from the National Council for Research under Belgiorno’s direction.
"Around 2,000 copper slag and bronze objects, stone tools and moulds have been found," she said, noting that many had been chemically analysed and that copper, tin, lead, zinc, arsenic, silver, nickel, iron, sulphur, and silicon had been found.
The analysis confirmed archaeologists’ beliefs that the primary and secondary processing of raw copper were undertaken at Pyrgos.
"Of particular interest, it is evident from the room distribution of the building, that the copper workshops were arranged around a large olive pressroom," she said.
The scarce presence of carbons in a number of small furnaces and forges point to the fact that olive oil and the waste remains from its processing had been used as fuel in copper production.
Bechi analyses of burned oil from an oven in unit B
(excavated at Pyrgos during 2005), treated with chemicals, also revealed the presence and the use of olive oil as fuel.
This evidence, Belgiorno says, means that a rethink must take place regarding Cypriot copper technology.
"Of special interest are also the stone swage anvils to shape daggers and the clay moulds for axes found still in the ovens. Both of them testify to the creative talent of the Cypriot coppersmiths in casting and forging bronzes. But it is the evidence of the
olive oil as fuel that opens a new window on the ancient history of metallurgy," she said.
According to Belgiorno, later evidence of a possible connection between olive oil and metallurgy comes from Greek mythology, with the myth of Eryctonios, son of Athena and Ephaestos.
"Overall, the evidence underlines the significance of Pyrgos/Mavroraki as the most important archeological site discovered in Cyprus Cyprus
"We are still working on the site. It is incredible what we are finding here. It is a very large court, we find malls, and jars etc. and an Italian expert confirmed the use of olive oil as fuel for melting copper.
"We will continue with the excavations probably for another year because what we are finding is incredible stuff, revolutionising archaeology and the ancient history of metallurgy.
"It had so far been believed that Cyprus Cyprus
"The evidence we found at Pyrgos, showing olive oil being used for copper metallurgy explains it. Italian experts who were here have confirmed this evidence.
"It was really olive oil, which meant less work and not having to go to the forests and cut the trees," Belgiorno told
The Cyprus Weekly.
Earlier this year, Belgiorno and her team of scientists found evidence at Pyrgos of a whole industrial complex, with its own perfume industry, producing perfumes earlier than Egypt
"It’s amazing. The metallurgy objects are all arranged in a room near the olive press room with a door connecting them," said Belgiorno.
Excavations carried out, also this year, under Belgiorno’s guidance at Erimi, showed that Cypriot wine was the most ancient in the entire eastern Mediterranean , produced 3,000 years before Greece
At Vounos, in occupied Kyrenia, archaeological excavations showed Cypriots were the first in Europe to use a horn as a wine glass- a trend still prevailing across Europe with crystal horns being produced and popular to this day in a number of northern European countries.
Contacto:
Maria Rosaria Belgiorno
ITABC-CNR, ROMA
e mail: mavroraki@...; mariarosaria.belgiorno@...
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