The cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 buried the ancient city of Pompeii under about 20 feet (6 meters) of volcanic ash and debris the whole bustling metropolis of the Roman Empire is kept in a suspended animation state. Archaeologists have spent more than a century excavating Pompeii to transform it into a diorama of life in antiquity, and they have confirmed a practice seen only in ancient Roman texts.
Researchers in Germany and Switzerland have dissected the structure and chemistry of ashes from two incense burners excavated at Pompeii, documenting sacrifices to gods previously only depicted in the works of Roman historians and artists.
“We’ve known for a long time from ancient writers that the Romans burned incense during their sacrifices,” said Johannes Eber, an archaeologist at the University of Zurich and lead author of the new study. “The traces of ashes and aromatic resins preserved from a domestic temple near Pompeii provide material evidence,” Eber added, “and are a wonderful reminder of how globalized the ancient world really was.”
A possible burial in Pompeii
New research, has been published On Monday, the journal Antiquity examined the contents of two censers, or incense burners, including one inside a domestic tomb. rustic villa hour BoscorealeAn agricultural district at the foot of Mount Vesuvius north of Pompeii. The tomb’s fire terracotta censer is framed by a sculptural appliqué of a reclining woman, a common commemorative addition in Pompeii. According to the researchers, “The reclining figures probably depict the deceased who were honored after death.”
The team analyzed the chemistry and microscopic properties of the organic remains left behind by cremated victims, including the remaining hard biominerals formed in woody plants and the microscopic particles of silica formed within the vegetation called phytoliths, also present in the ash.
Their analysis provided the first concrete evidence of the burning of wine and frankincense in local Roman rituals, which are said to have played a central role in early Imperial funerals and other religious ceremonies. According to Eber, ancient Roman incense resins such as these had “only rarely been subjected to detailed analysis” before the new study. This ritual practice has never been confirmed in the archaeological record.
The incense itself was unique. Eber and his colleagues traced the origins of this particular aromatic tree resin far from its usual source in southern Arabia, to the furthest reaches of the Roman Empire’s trade network in India or sub-Saharan Africa.
Eber and his colleagues noted that written sources often emphasize the use of imported frankincense and other incense for such domestic rituals. The combined burning of wine and incense was “one of the most accepted early sacrificial acts in the Roman Empire.” was known as preface– initial offer designed Invoking the Roman gods, including Janus, Jupiter, and sometimes others, to bless the performance of rituals. In these rituals, “burning wine” meant pouring the wine into an open flame or incense burner, where it would evaporate, mix with smoke, and release a distinctive aroma.
In vino veritas (maybe, probably)
The researchers added some caveats to their findings, however, due to the “poorly documented post-excavation dates” of both artifacts. While they are confident in their analysis of these ceremonial remains, they note that “some of the compounds identified may be related to natural decay processes.”
In the case of wine, Eber and his co-authors rely mainly on fatty and acidic evidence for grapes, including a suggested combination of succinic, fumaric, malic and tartaric acids. As he noted in his research, “a malic-to-tartaric acid ratio of 0.7 may correspond to the chemical signature of a ripe grape product,” “like wine or vinegar.”
But perhaps the most serious reason for caution comes simply from the long and winding chain of custody: a sensor was discovered from a buried Pompeii residence that was being converted into a hotel when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1954 (in other words, there’s a lot going on before and after). The censor from Boscoreale was discovered in 1986, almost 40 years ago. Crazy things have happened in the 2,000 years since Pompeii was buried alive, too. (For example, did you know it’s partial? was bombed By the Allies during WWII?) So, for now, it’s worth taking some of these conclusions with a grain of salt, or maybe a few silica phytoliths.
Eber and his team emphasized that “post-depositional contamination cannot be ruled out, as no sediment control samples have been preserved from the context, preventing final confirmation that these biomarkers are related to the original contents of the incense burner.”
