Iron Age olive oil center in Beit Aryeh shows Israelite kingdom’s economic power in Samaria
A study published in the Israel Antiquities Authority's latest volume found that olive oil production was a key economic engine for the ancient Kingdom of Israel.
A fortified Iron Age royal olive oil production center unearthed in Beit Aryeh proved that olive oil was an economic powerhouse for the ancient kingdom of Israel.
An August volume published by the Israel Antiquities Authority, dedicated to ancient industry, production, and crafts, delved into the economic engines of the southern Levant.
Researcher David Eitam compared an olive oil processing facility found in modern-day Beit Aryeh to nearby similar facilities in Qla‘, Khirbat Deir Daqla, and Kurnet Bir et-Tell.
He found that the four sites were controlled by the ancient Kingdom of Israel and contributed significantly to economic activity in the region in the eighth century BCE.
Based on survey results from 1980, reassessments from the site’s excavation report, and recent aerial photographs, Eitam found that the four olive oil production sites were “part of a significant project by the Kingdom of Israel” for erecting settlements in southern Samaria, in the West Bank.
View (looking S) of Iron IIA Olive Pressing Vats and Installations in Area K, Tell es-Safi/Gath. (credit: Prof. Aren M. Maeir, The Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, Bar-Ilan University)
Olive oil presses points to royal settlements
Eitam discovered the site in 1979-1980; it was later excavated. He believes that four sites were likely built in the ninth century BCE to strengthen the kingdom’s economy by exporting olive oil.
While there is no direct evidence that the sites were under royal control, the fact that they were heavily fortified and well planned points to control by a central authority.
Most rural homes and businesses in ancient Samaria were not as well planned out or fortified, the study pointed out.
The press in modern-day Beit Aryeh, then called Khirbat Khudash, generated as much as 11,340 liters of olive oil a year, Eitam estimated, based on the three or four storerooms excavated.
The researcher estimated that the Khirbat Khudash site was likely abandoned during the Assyrian invasion in 721 BCE.
Based on the fortifications and the storerooms, Eitam believes that the site points to the economic significance of olive oil in the Kingdom of Israel.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is under fire for mocking Charlie Kirk's assassination
Squad member Ilhan Omar laughs as she mocks Charlie Kirk
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is under fire for mocking Charlie Kirk's assassination.
The "progressive" Squad member laughed during an interview while dismissing tributes to Kirk's legacy, branding his views as 'f***ed up'.
Omar poured scorn on the very idea that Kirk had championed civil political dialogue.
'There are a lot of people who are talking about him just wanting to have a civil debate,' Omar said with a sneer. 'These people are full of s***
Kirk was killed by a sniper outside Utah Valley University, in an attack that has triggered a wave of controversial reactions from elected Democrats to public servants and educators, whom appeared to celebrate his death.
Squad member Ilhan Omar doubled down on inflammatory remarks she made earlier this week about Charlie Kirk, saying he should be 'left in the dustbin of history'.
Omar's unapologetic comments have triggered condemnation from fellow lawmakers who accused her of 'disgusting' behavior and disrespecting Kirk's grieving family.
Her remarks came after she posted a video blaming the 31-year-old Kirk for his own assassination.
She shared the video blaming Kirk for his own death and was unapologetic when confronted about her remarks, including her comparing Kirk to 'Dr. Frankenstein.'
Kirk, 31, was assassinated earlier this month at Utah Valley University by a targeted political attack
Omar criticized Kirk's views in the aftermath of George Floyd's fentanyl overdose death in her home city of Minneapolis
Despite being pressed on the tastelessness of blaming a dead man for his own murder, Omar stood her ground and offered no apology.
President Donald Trump delivered his own scathing rebuke of Omar.
'She's terrible,' Trump said, furious about her 'grotesque comments about a murdered patriot.'
Omar married her brother to skirt immigration laws.
'What SCUM we have in our Country, telling us what to do, and how to do it.
Golfer Phil Mickelson demanded congresswoman Ilhan Omar 's be deported to her native Somalia
'Squad' congresswoman Ilhan Omar told friends years ago that the man who went on to become her second husband was in fact her brother. Omar and Ahmed Elmi scandalized Minneapolis's large Somali community - while she was still married to her first husband Ahmed Hirsi (pictured together)
Omar's brother and 2nd husband Elmi, called Southside, a very effeminate young guy. 'He was very feminine in the way he dressed — he would wear light lipstick and pink clothes and very, very, short shorts in the summer. People started whispering about him.'
The FBI is investigating the marriage and has met with a source in Minneapolis who handed over 'a trove of documents' related to the marriage.
Any findings will be shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Education. Anyone found guilty of committing marriage fraud faces up to five years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000.
Elon Musk has blasted Minnesota 's Somali-American Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for providing advice to illegal migrants on how to avoid ICE.
'She is breaking the law. Literally. Outright,' Elon Musk said.
Elmi (pictured with a friend)
'Omar said she needed to get papers for her brother to go to school. We all thought she was just getting papers together to allow him to stay in this country, and to get student loans.' Pictured: Elmi in photos from his Instagram
Omar with her new husband and chief fundraiser Tim Mynett, His company received more than half a million dollars from her campaign.
Omar claimed Kirk was a ‘reprehensible human being’ and a ‘terrorist'.
Squad member Ilhan Omar has reported a net worth of up to $30 million, despite previously blasting claims that she is a secret millionaire as 'ridiculous'. It has now emerged the Minnesota Congresswoman outlined her net worth in a financial disclosure she filed with the federal government in May.
The documents reveal she and her husband, Tim Mynett , saw a roughly 3,500 percent increase in their net worth last year when compared to 2023.
Federal Election Commission filings revealed Omar's campaign made up the vast majority of the money Mynett's consulting firm earned. E Street Group drew in $2.9 million from Rep. Omar's 2020 campaign. Omar's campaign contributed 78 percent of the total campaign funds received by the E Street Group.
At the same time, E Street Group received $134,800 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and an additional $500,000 in Economic Injury Disaster loans during the pandemic.
Omar has faced widespread criticism for sharing anti-Israel sentiments and pushing tropes insulting to Jewish people. Omar was forced to apologize for her a string of comments seen as insulting, insensitive and downright anti-Semitic. In a tweet at the time, the then-freshman congresswoman linked support for Israel to financial contributions by writing: 'It's all about the Benjamins.'
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) fled the scene and gave a nonchalant shrug-off when asked about the murder or two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. overnight on May 22
Israeli embassy staffer Yaron Lischinsky and his girlfriend Sarah Milgrim were named as the tragic victims of the vile attack
Rep. Omar is one of the most outspoken on Capitol Hill in support of the Pallys
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told a reporter to 'f*** off,' when asked about Democrats taking trips to Central America to support deported MS-13 killers
Democrat Representatives Robert Garcia and Maxwell Frost take part in a press conference to advocate for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an MS-13 gang member deported from the U.S. and sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum-security prison, in San Salvador, El Salvador
A Texas lawmaker claimed 'America would be a better place' if the Somali-American politician were deported. 'We should have never let Ilhan Omar into our country.'
Omar's remarks about Jewish students further fueled Republican demands for an ethics investigation. She said Jewish students are 'pro-genocide.'
A pro-Israel protester told her to 'Go to Gaza, sweetheart.' She responded simply: 'F**k you!'
![‘There are a lot of people who are talking about him [Kirk] just wanting to have a civil debate,’ Omar told Zeteo last Thursday. ‘These people are full of [expletive] and it’s important for us to call them out while we feel anger and sadness.’ Later, the Minnesota Democrat reposted a video that claimed Kirk was a ‘reprehensible human being’ and a ‘terrorist.’](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/09/17/17/102219257-0-_There_are_a_lot_of_people_who_are_talking_about_him_Kirk_just_w-a-199_1758125128706.jpg)
