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Room 14 – Hydraulic powered mill
The development of the traditional family mill and the creation of the mills alongside the streams of rivers thus using hydraulic power to turn the wheels became the principal innovation in oil extraction in Liguria during the 1st century. The new kind of mills were able to process the harvest of thousands of trees and were in function day and night for months to satisfy the demands of the owners of the trees. The ligurian millers were the most expert and famous in the whole Mediterranean area and their methods of extraction were imitated in all the oil producing zones.

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The most important place in the hydraulic powered mill.
With the stone baths and pressing wheels for breaking down into pulp the olives a great double press together with the special utensils used it was possible to produce hundreds of tons of olive oil every year. A scale model illustrates the complex mechanism used for turning the pressure wheels using the pressure from the water to turn the wheel placed on the side of the mill.
 

Ceramic jars
These large ceramic vessels could contain up to a hundred or more kilos of oil. Different forms and shapes were produced in specialized regions such as Biot in Provence and Impruneta in Tuscany then supplied to the olive oil producing areas.

Material: clay
Dimensions: height between 50-120cm. Diameters between 40-80cm
Manufacturing technique: handmade and lined with a glass like material
Origin: Biot, Provence
Dated: between XVIII and XX centuries
Use: for the storage of olive oil