How did the ancient romans get olive oil to burn?

I know that they used olive oil in their oil lamps, but when i try to light olive oil it wont burn.How did the ancient romans get olive oil to burn?
It's actually very simple, and you can do thie in your own home. though the low light output of a single wick will probably disappoint you.





The technology is exactly the same as a candle, except that the oil is liquid, whereas the wax/fat of a candle is solid (but must liquefy just beneath the flame before it will burn - if iy's too cold for this tohappen, a candle won't work).





You take a container with some oil in (only a little is needed to demonstrate the point). Use a bit of string, natural fibre not terylene or nylon, and let it soak in the oil. This is the wick. Support one end of the wick vertically (if you use a shallow tin for the lamp, a metal paperclip on the rim to hold the wick is ideal) and light the tip.





The wick will not burn much, but the oil will, giving heat and light. Oil creeps up the wick by osmosis and, when it reaches the flame, vapourises then burns. Easy.





The Romans used candelabra of several lamps when they wanted a good light. Even so, I don't suppose they could do much in the way of reading or fine work except right next to the hot, smelly smoky flame.





Be thankful for electricity.How did the ancient romans get olive oil to burn?
The same way my wife can get lettuce to.
they used a wick which led to a reserve of the oil. as the wick burned oil was 'sucked' through the wick
It's a safe, renewable alternative, but I'm not sure how inexpensive it is. It's safer to burn because olive oil has low volatility due to its high flash point (it won't burn until it reaches 550掳F). Burning olive oil also generates less smoke and leaves behind less soot than most other oils. Older olive oil tends to burn the best, and even when rancid is practically odorless while burning.





The key to burning olive oil is to keep the wick saturated at all times. The thickness of the oil affects the capillary action so soaking the wick in oil before lighting it works best. Use wicks with a large weave or even tightly twisted strips of cotton cloth. You can also make a wick from a cotton swab. Dip the swab into the oil and then twist the oiled end off of the swab stick and shape it into a teardrop. Float the ';teardrop'; onto the oil and light. Use low-grade olive oil. It will burn just as well as any high-grade olive oil, but will be cheaper. A little will go along way because it burns quite slowly.


Not sure if this helps, but I hope that it does...
If I am not wrong they used some sort of a thread or a cord, immersed in the oil it burns nicely.
Types of Fuel





The main type of fuel the Romans used was olive oil with salt added. Salt functioned to dry the oil and gave the light more of a yellow color. The salt may also have helped keep the oil from getting overheated. Castor oil was also used but it gave off a strong smell so that mainly the poor used it (Forbes 1965, p. 156). It is thought that any oil that was plentiful and not required for other purposes was used for fuel in lamps. If fish oil was abundant, then fish oil was used, or if an area had olive oil, then olive oil was used. The oils used were almost always edible, so that when food was scarce, so was light. In Colonial times any type of grease, scraps of fat, fish oil, or whale oil was used (Cooke 1972, p. 16).





Types of Wicks





Many different types of wicks could be used such as mullein, asbestos, linen, oakum, or papyrus. Pliny wrote of wicks made from the fibers of the castor plant and Callimachus mentions lamps and that the wick name refers to its material (Forbes 1965, p. 156). In colonial times a twisted cotton rag was generally used as the wick (Cooke 1972, p. 17).
it doesnt burn accept on a wick