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Document Details :

Title: Water Powered Olive Press in Lebanon: the “Maṭrūf”
Subtitle: A Comparative Field Study in Cultural Technology
Author(s): NADER, Moheb , SAZ, Chahnaz
Journal: ARAM Periodical
Volume: 14    Date: 2001-2002   
Pages: 599-671
DOI: 10.2143/ARAM.14.0.504520

Abstract :
The article examines the traditional oil press, where energy for motion is generated by the fall of water and fall from an effective height, a technique which is called Maṭrūf. It is an attempt to piece together technical and cultural elements which have become extinct. The presentation consists of a number of research axes. There is a “geographical axis”, which determines the sites and villages. There is the “descriptive axis”, which presents the tools as well as the scattered and extinct elements of the technique. Finally there is the “reconstruction axis” that pieces together the bygone atmosphere, operation mechanisms and working methods.

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