Development of olive cultivation at the site of Sikyon, Greece: evidence from the charred olive remains from the late Classical/early Hellenistic to the Roman period

Olea europaea (olive) is a typical fruit tree of the Mediterranean basin where it has been widely cultivated for millennia. In the Aegean, the growing of olives is known since the Neolithic period, and it has been suggested that their cultivation increased during the 1st millennium bce. The olive and its by-products have played dynamic roles in the economies of the regions in which it was grown. The finding of charred olive stones at the site of Sikyon in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, reflects the role of olives in this region during the second half of the 1st millennium bce until the beginning of the 1st millennium ce. The results of geometric morphometric analysis of some complete olive stones found in various archaeological contexts at Sikyon provide information on the state of olive cultivation and the richness of the various olive varieties grown there.