Recreating The Aroma Of The Ancient City: Incense In The Ancient Mediterranean

Censer, clay. Gralygia, near Ierapetra Crete, Late Minoan III period, 1400-1200 BC. Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos. Image via Wikimedia under a CC-BY-SA-4.0

What did the ancient Mediterranean smell like? How could scent be used to speak directly to the Gods? Where did the frankincense and myrrh given to the infant Jesus come from? These questions and many more were asked this weekend at a conference at the British School at Rome and the École française de Rome. Archaeologists, historians and classicists gathered not only to explore the use of incense, perfume and scented oils in antiquity, but also to attempt to recreate the ephemeral smellscapes of the past.

Limoges enamel plaque of angels with censers, formerly in the Keir Collection, now in the 

At times, the streets of the ancient world may have been rife with the smell of sewage, garbage and decaying animals; however, there were also sweet smells that could be acquired--for a price. The historical use of incense stretches back for millennia, although the substances burned could vary from place to place. Sweet smelling smoke was often the way that the people could speak to the Gods and demonstrate piety. Think of it as a kind of direct telephone line that could be used through an altar in the front of a temple, within a household shrine or via small incense burners.

During the period of the Aegean Bronze Age (ca.3000-1000 BCE), the ancient cultures of the Minoans and the Myceneans on the island of Crete made extensive use of fragrant substances such as ladanum (also called laudanum) and saffron. It is said that shepherds would often meticulously collect remnants of ladanum, a sticky resin that comes from the shrubs of the Cistus ladanifer, from the beards of their goats after they had been grazing. As Jo Day, a classics professor at University College Dublin, remarked, the Minoans and Myceneans (1600-1200 BCE) also burned another spice as incense: saffron. Numerous frescoes at other Minoan sites, such as Akrotiri on the Greek island of Santorini, even depict the collection of saffron from the island. Later, saffron would be called κρόκος, where we get the modern word "crocus" from.

The experience of aromatic oils was not just for the Gods, it was felt by the people in and around the spaces where they were burned. This was particularly true within Assyrian culture in northern Mesopotamia. Kiersten Neumann, a Curator and Research Associate at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, discussed the raw materials connected to aromatics within Assyrian temples: cedar, cypress, juniper, boxwood and fir (terebinth). Service to the gods was performed by elite personnel within the temple. The Arabian peninsula was the principle place to acquire these spices and incenses. Arabic caravans used camels that traveled along a set trade route that then sold these precious substances to those who wished to burn them.

While there were cheaper aromatics to burn, there were also a number of luxury incenses. Cinnamon was a common one, particularly at Roman funerals. One of the best known is frankincense, which is a resin procured from boswellia trees. The Romans often imported this precious substance from southern Arabia, where it was grown, but not all Romans were on board with exotic imports. In 189 BCE, the censors of Rome forbade the sale of unguenta exotica (exotic unguents) within the city; a tactic taken again in 89 BCE, during the Social Wars (Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 13.5). Just as was the case during World War II, periods of wartime meant cutting back on luxury items and the consumption of expensive goods. It was at these moments that sumptuary legislation was often passed in order to restrict the purchase of incense or unguents by the public.

When the Magi brought frankincense and myrrh (Gr.σμύρνα) along with the gold to the baby Jesus, they were donating sacred substances to be used to make the newborn's house and his body more fragrant. Although frankincense was usually placed in an incense burner, myrrh came from an Arabian tree and was often turned into an unguent used on the dead in ancient Egypt (according to Herodotus) or applied as a special salve.

One of the most interesting things about the study of incense is the chance to recreate some of these ancient substances. Reconstructive archaeology like this allows us to experience what the ancient temples, houses and sanctuaries of antiquity may have smelled like. There are a number of recipes that survive for certain compound incenses, particularly one that hailed from Egypt called kyphi. This incense could have myrrh, frankincense, saffron, cinnamon, cassia and even raisins. Kyphi was a popular aromatic in Egyptian temples dedicated to Isis, but could also be used in the house before bed to help people get a good night's sleep.

Imagining the bedrooms of the ancient world is completely different when you can actually smell the pungent sweetness of kyphi as you take in the colorful frescoes and cushioned furniture within the ancient bedrooms of places like Pompeii. Smelling these reconstructed substances in person is then a potent reminder that experiencing the ancient world is not just about modeling ancient buildings or putting on a wool toga. It also requires us to revivify the tastes, the feel, the sounds and the smells of the ancient world.

Burning of Kyphi (Ancient Incense) από imageable

Source/Photography/Bibliography

@SarahEBond.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos

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