Identifying Fruit Varieties in Ancient Rabbinic Sources / לזיהוי שמותיהם של זני פרות בלשון חכמים

• Published in: לשוננו 2007-09, Vol.סט (ג/ד), p.271-290
• Main Authors: כסלו, מרדכי א', תבק, יונית, שמחוני, אורית, Kislev, Mordechai E., Tabak, Yonit, Simchoni, Orit
• Format: Article
• Language: Hebrew
• ISSN: 0334-3626

Fruit fragments uncovered at Masada aid the characterization of plum species and olive varieties named in ancient rabbinic sources. In Roman times, the plum was a new fruit tree and served only as a minor dietary component. Botanically, דרמסקניות was identified as Prunus cerasia, a local cherry plum. Linguistically, this name parallels the so-called damson plum, Prunus insititia, which is a closely related species. אחון was identified as the European plum. The Souri olive variety, rich in oil, appears in biblical Hebrew as זית שמן, and as זית בינוני in rabbinic literature. This variety is also known as אגורי,שפכוני,אווריסי,אברוטי, and סמרוסי; and these olives are mentioned as grown in Teko'a, Gush Halav in the Upper Galilee, and Regev in the Golan. זית נודיין and זית של שני מלבנים were identified by Rabbi Solomon Sirillo in his commentary on the Palestinian Talmud as Souri olive trees pruned using a special technique that produces two trunks and two crowns on each tree. The Nabali variety was identified as בישני and זית הנטופה; and the large-fruited Shami (or Merḥavia) olives were identified as κολυμβάς - קולפסין. Archeobotanical remnants of the large pits of the Toffahi variety were found, which apparently represent the unnamed Egyptian variety mentioned by Pliny (Natural History, XV, 15). Small-fruited Mallissi pits were also found, a variety described there as well.