On wine production from the first torcularium in the Roman villa of Los Villaricos (Mula, Murcia)

Between 1990 and 1994 a series of archaeological works were carried out in the Roman villa of Los Villaricos that brought to light some stone remains which were interpreted as olive oil production structures. It was, therefore, a torcularium in which some rooms were interpreted for an specific purpose such as a tabulatum, a room where the olives were pressed, a lacus, cuvettes and, finally, a large room that was identified as a cella olearia. Now, almost 25 years later, and thanks to the continuous work done on this archaeological site, we have now documented a large building of almost 700 m(2) in size that is almost certain to have been destined to olive oil production. Consequently, we believe we are able to demonstrate that the production of the first torcularium was not intended for olive oil after all, but for wine, which would make this site one of the most important wine production centers of Roman Hispania.