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An olive oil press with a screw mechanism and weighted beam. This type of press added the mechanical advantage of a screw to the simple weighted beam. When the screw was turned by a lever inserted in it, it pulled down on the beam and then raised the stone weight out of its recess in the floor. A typical weight used in such a screw type press weighed about 2 ½ tons. As the screw turned, ultimately lifting the great stone weight so that it was suspended at the end of the beam, as much as nine tons of pressure was applied to the pulp-filled stack of aqal, or flat baskets.