Abstract
Soap made of potash and olive oil was first mentioned in sources dated to 985 CE. Later Islamic medieval sources describe soap export to Egypt and other Muslim destinations, from Turkey to Yemen. The popularity of olive-oil soap stemmed from its ritual purity, as opposed to the finer European soap that contained pig fat. Under both Mamluk and Ottoman regimes, olive-oil soap became one of the Holy Land’s main manufactured goods, catering to local and foreign markets alike. The primary production centers were Nablus and Jerusalem, yet workshops also operated in Ramla, Lod, Acre, Jaffa, Gaza and Hebron. Textual sources and archaeological findings shed light on early soap production, especially in Jerusalem. The Mandate-period factories in Lod, Acre and Jaffa, however, remain unknown. The installations used in the soap industry had not changed over time, comprising plastered basins for mixing consolidating materials, a soap-cooking vat, a storage facility for oil-production waste used for furnace stoking, and subterranean storage spaces for oil. The soap industry developed throughout the Ottoman period, thriving in a land notorious for its hygienic deficiencies. Modernization, natural processes and violent conflicts in the area resulted in the elimination of this once booming local industry. Today, the soap industry is survived by two workshops located in Nablus.
Recommended Citation
Arbel, Yoav
(1905)
"صناعة صابون الزيت في الفترة العثمانية: الوسائل، المواقع والابتكارات / Olive-Oil Soap Production in the Ottoman Period: Methods, Sites and Innovations,"
Cornerstone: Journal of Archaeological Sites (حجر الزاوية): Vol. 9, Article 14.
Available at:
https://publications.iaa.org.il/cornerstone/vol9/iss1/14
