Egyptian archaeobotany

The study and analysis of plant material hitherto previously unknown from the Tutankhamun’s grave ultimately leading to the first scientific virtual reconstruction of an ancient Egyptian landscape and one standing to date alone in the field of Egyptian archaeobotany/Egyptology.

The book may be bought from here: http://saisbooks.co.uk

Among classicists, archaeobotanists and agricultural historians, the meaning of the word phasolus (ϕασηλος
in Greek) is ambiguous. While Latin scholars have agreed that the word refers to a type of pulse or bean, there are various interpretations and subsequent identifications as to which botanical species is meant. The current paper aims to address this ambiguity by assessing the validity of the proposed interpretations. This will be done on three levels. First, the a priori feasibility of the interpretations will be ascertained. Second, all classical mentions of phasolus, both in Greek and Latin, will be reviewed and analysed. The aim of this step is to find what biological traits and characteristics were associated with phasolus, which may aid in confirming or rebuking an identification. Thirdly, we will assess the archaeobotanical evidence pertaining to the proposed interpretations for the Roman period. This paper includes the assessment of several classical sources previously absent from the debate as well as a new botanical identification of a key archaeobotanical
sample previously used to prove the presence of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in the Mediterranean during Antiquity.

The first SAEMT conference was successfully held from November 4th–6th 2017, inaugurated
by and under the auspice of His Excellency Prof. Dr. Khaled el-Enany, at the Manial Palace
Museum in Cairo. Over the three day conference, forty presentations were delivered and
thirty posters were exhibited to over 250 national and international attendees. The organisers
divided the topics into seven sessions that encompassed a variety of topics: mining and quarrying; building; pyrotechnology; graphic and aesthetic technologies; funerary technologies;
agricultural and food technology; and domestic and local craft technologies.
This conference successfully fulfilled its three aims. Firstly, it provided the venue for international archaeometrists involved in ancient Egyptian issues to present their research and
exchange ideas. Secondly, it emphasised the necessity of integrating archaeological sciences
and interdisciplinary approaches in archaeological studies. And thirdly, it provided a space
for those working in Egypt to share experiences, discuss research studies, applications, and to
develop future collaborations.

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"Since science was requested to assist Egyptology, the study of ancient Egyptian plants made a leap forward. This book incorporates over 2400 references on the subject, the largest number ever assembled. These references are covered by author, thereafter by classification codes depending on sub-subject.
The book may be ordered from http://saisbooks.co.uk
"

The possibility that legumes were specifically cultivated as a separate fodder crop in ancient Egypt has been inferred, usually on the basis of abundance of both legume seeds and / or dung in charred macro-botanical samples, combined with a lack of wood charcoal; the implication being that a scarcity of wood led to the use of dung as fuel, and that the legumes in the assemblage derive from livestock which had been fed with cultivated fodder. The archaeobotanical remains from excavations at the Old Kingdom ‘Khentkawes town’ (2300-2100 BC) on the Giza plateau in Egypt contained an abundance of legumes, but also much wood charcoal, and preservation of many fragile and ‘green’ seeds and plant parts. This assemblage has led to questioning of the theory of specific fodder cultivation in Pharaonic Egypt. In this article, alternative interpretations of legume-rich assemblages of cereal processing by-products are investigated. Intercropping of legumes with cereals is one of the most widespread and effective methods of improving crop value and security, and fodder/forage quality. Analysis of this assemblage has led to a hypothesis that Trifolium sp. and other ‘weeds’ may well have been viewed as integral plants  within ancient Egyptian cereal fields, due to an awareness of the benefits of intercropping legumes with cereals - as opposed to having been specifically cultivated as a monocrop.

This article presents results of analysis of 2nd Intermediate period and 18th dynasty archaeobotanical remains from the multi-period settlement and cemetery site of Tell el-Retaba in the Wadi Tumilat; material from the Ramesside and 3rd Intermediate period can be found in A&L 25 (2015, 175–200). Excavations conducted since 2009 have yielded abundant charred plant macro-remains the analyses of which have enabled hypotheses relating to the local environment, animal husbandry, agriculture and subsistence strategies. It has now been established that the area experienced regular fluctuations of water levels and changing water-bodies, and that the inhabitants of the settlements of all periods at the site generally seem to have relied primarily upon an integrated arable and livestock agricultural system .

The next 10th International Workshop for African Archaeobotany will be held in Paris from Tuesday 22th to Friday 25th June 2021.

Details and pre-registration: see circular
For more information: iwaa10@sciencesconf.org

Presented research typically covers the entire African continent from South Africa to Morocco and from Mediterranean environments to the tropical forest zone passing through desert areas. Topics include plant macroremains, phytoliths, pollen, and non-pollen palynomorphs analyses. Historical, ethnological and linguistic studies are also interdisciplinary elements of ancient plant use studies, as well as molecular and geochemical analyses. Themes mainly deal with agriculture, food and food practices, crafts, funeral and ritual practices, dynamics of diffusion, exchange and trade, domestication of plants, fuel management, and landscape evolution.

This article establishes unprecedented connections between the Ancient Egyptian term GAS, usually translated as 'rush' and 'reed' with various cognates in different Indian languages qualifying the Kans grass ( Saccharum spontaneum ). Hence confirming the link made by Loret in 1904 between GAS and that very species, as well as presenting a clear case of a late plant transhumance eastwards to Egypt as the centre of origin of the Kans grass is clearly identified by botanists as being Indo-Asiatic. The article ends by questioning the reasons of the arrival of the Kans grass in Egypt nearly two millenia before its related species, the sugar cane ( Saccharum officinarum ). DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v06i2_de_vartavan2