Laudatissimum-fuit-antiquitus-in-Delo-insula. House IB in the stadium quarter and the production of perfumes on Delos

The excavations on Delos at the beginning of the 20th century brought to li ght some thirty blocks from presses. Some of them formed part of the equipm ent for producing cooking and lighting oil (cf. BCH 121 [1997], p. 573-615) , others were probably connected with the manufacture of perfumes mentioned by Pliny. Two kneading troughs were discovered in House IB in the stadium quarter, excavated in 1912 by A. Plassart, which was identified as a restau rant due to the discovery of four ovens. New research in 1997 showed the co mplexity of the history of this dwelling, which housed an important perfume factory at around the beginning of the 1st century BC. One room was equipp ed with two wedge presses used to extract oils for perfume, and ovens where the oil and the aromatics were heated. In a later phase the perfumery was dismantled and the dwelling probably converted into a bath house. The finds from this excavation and that of the oil press IIIO in the theatr e quarter, made it possible to identify the blocks that were found in the p ast and to evaluate the relative importance of the production of wine, cook ing oil and perfumes on the island of Delos in Hellenistic times and during the Roman Empire.