Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

CHHIM

LEBANON

wall of oil press E.II, was explored in its
entirety this year [Fig. 3]. The lime-mortar
floor, 0.08-0.10 m thick on average, was
well preserved all over the room. A frag-
ment of stone column found in the middle
of the chamber was undoubtedly the base
of a wooden post supporting a traditional
terrace roof, a solution repeated in other
houses excavated in the village.
The floor in the northwestern part of the
room revealed a small depression, c. 0.25 m
in diameter, and a small basin, which ap-
peared to be in connection with a largely
ruined channel running alongside the north-
west wall of the room. This channel, once
obviously covered with a masonry bench of
some kind, ran across the width of the

chamber. A small section in the north corner
has been preserved, revealing flat slabs for-
ming a rectangular passage, plastered in-
side [Fig. 4]. It pierced the wall separating
the chamber from oil press E.II' and ran
through the southwest wall of the room on
the other side. This covered channel, perhaps
making up part of the water-supply system,
clearly ran downslope. It seems to be earlier
than room E.XXVI and apparently went
into disuse when the chamber was erected.
An architectural analysis of the structure
indicates that the room was attached to the
building of the oil press, taking advantage
of two already standing walls.
In the southeastern part of the room,
a stone bench, c. 0.60 m wide, stood against


Fig. 3. General view of room E.XXVI
(Photo T. Waliszewski)

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