Analysis of a pharaonic embalming tar (original) (raw)
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BASOR, 2021
Archaeologists and historians have routinely attributed “branded” goods to particular regions and cultural groups, often without rigorous analysis. Phoenician cedar oil is perhaps one of the best-known examples from antiquity. Hellenistic Tel Kedesh in the Upper Galilee region of the Levant is particularly relevant for these discussions by virtue of its strategic role as a border settlement in Phoenicia during one of the most dynamic periods in ancient history. As a concise contribution to these discussions, we present here an interdisciplinary analysis of amphoriskoi found with ca. 2,000 impressed sealings from the archive complex of the Persian-Hellenistic Administrative Building. While the building was constructed under the Achaemenids and occupied in both the Ptolemaic and Seleucid eras, the archive was in use only under the Seleucids in the first half of the of the 2nd century B.C.E. Blending organic residue analysis with archaeological and textual data has allowed us to identify with certainty one of the value-added goods most closely attached to ancient Phoenicia, true cedar oil from Cedrus libani. This discovery not only empirically verifies this well-known association for the first time, but also provides a rich context in which to test our assumptions about culturally-branded goods, the role they played in participant societies, and the mechanisms and systems in place that facilitated their production, use, and export.
Volatile Components of Heartwood, Sapwood, and Resin From a Dated Cedrus brevifolia
Natural Product Communications
In the present study, the heartwood and the sapwood of a thick wood disc from a dated Cedrus brevifolia trunk, and the resin were analyzed for their volatile components. All samples were subjected to headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis. The main constituents were β-himachalene (22.2 %) in heartwood and (25.0 %) in sapwood, and α-pinene (37.8 %) in resin.
Herodotus’ and Pliny's Embalming Materials Identified on Ancient Egyptian Mummies*
Archaeometry, 2005
Unused ancient Egyptian embalming material unearthed at Deir el‐Bahari (c. 1500bc) shed new light on the potential preparation methods for various embalming materials in Pharaonic Egypt. Analyses revealed the presence of phenols, guaiacols, naphthalenes and sesquiterpenoids. These components were attributed to a wood tar oil produced by a dry distillation or smouldering process from the true cedar tree. The preservation effects were elucidated at the molecular level. Bone alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme that is tightly bound in deeper regions of the bone mineral, served as a marker to reveal the efficacy of the investigated compounds. A very similar embalming material was extracted from a Ptolemaic torso (340±170bc), showing powerful bactericidal and fungicidal activity on the mummified tissue and bones. Here, we show that both the unused and the used embalming materials are in striking accordance with Pliny's description of liquid ‘cedrium’, with the abundantly present guaiacol...
The aim of this paper is to reflect on the role of firewood in Roman burial rites of cremation. The case study of Reza Vella (Ourense, Spain) provides valuable information about the uses and the role of plants in a funerary context in northwest Iberia. Archaeobotanical data from Roman cemeteries in this area are very scarce, but they provide valuable information on the funerary customs introduced by the Roman Empire to the provinces, and how this interaction could be reflected in the management of firewood. The structures related to cremation rites include primary and secondary contexts. Charcoal remains recovered inside the structures, of bustum type, are the remains of the fuel burned during the cremation of the corpses. In these primary contexts, the ubiquitous taxa were Quercus sp. deciduous, Fraxinus sp. and Pinus spp. Other taxa, such as Salix/Populus, Prunus sp. and Arbutus unedo, have also been identified in secondary burials. A combination of different factors probably determined their selection for cremation purposes, such as their availability in the environs of the necropolis, differential access to wood resources, their heat potential, technical aspects related to their exploitation and even conceptual aspects, such as their symbolic meaning.
This study provides chemical confirmation for the use of resinous plant exudates in mortuary contexts in Roman Britain. The presence of European Pinaceae (conifer) resins, Pistacia spp. (mastic/terebinth) resins from the Mediterranean/Levant and Boswellia spp. (frankincense) gum-resins from southern Arabia/eastern Africa were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In addition, traces of a balsamic resin, probably Liquidambar orientalis, were recovered. Theoretical consideration of this imported rite indicates the multiplicity of roles played by resins/gum-resins as part of Roman period mortuary practices. On a practical level, they acted as temporary preservatives and masked the odour of decay. As social signifiers, they appear to have denoted the status of the deceased while their sensory impact promoted remembrance and facilitated the final rite of passage to the afterlife. This thesis provides new insights into the treatment of the dead in Roman Britain and establishes fresh links between this remote province and the remainder of the Empire. It is hoped that speculation about the meaning, associations and origins of this rite will serve to promote debate and further research into the use of natural plant exudates in the mortuary sphere.
Birch-bark tar in the Roman world: the persistence of an ancient craft tradition?
Antiquity, 2019
Birch-bark tar, used continuously in the territory of modern Europe from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Iron Age, is conspicuous by its absence in the archaeological record of the Roman period, suggesting its replacement by conifer-based products. The results of chemical analyses of residues on Roman hinges, however, now challenge this interpretation. The presence of birch-bark tar in most of the samples demonstrates the persistence of a long-established practice into the Roman period. Examined in relation to textual and environmental evidence, these results illuminate the transmission of technical knowledge and the development of long-distance trade networks associated with birch-bark tar.