A new study has revealed that the inhabitants of the Roman city of Pompeii burned incense sourced from the forests of Asia or Africa, in evidence of a global trade network linking the Roman Empire to the ends of the earth.
Pompeii was buried under a massive volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, killing most of its inhabitants due to suffocation and extreme heat.
But this same disaster was a boon to archaeologists, as it preserved the ash that had accumulated on domestic altars, providing a rare opportunity to study the daily habits of the inhabitants.
Scientists say in a study published in the journal Antiquity that incense burners are frequently discovered at Roman sites, indicating burning practices within domestic rituals, but what those families burned remained a mystery.
For the first time, a scientific team was able to analyze the remains of materials that were placed in household incense burners as offerings to the gods. They found that the inhabitants used incense sticks made from local plants, along with aromatic materials imported from Asia and Africa.
The scientists explained that the findings revealed the burning of woody plants, either as fuel or as offerings, along with stone fruits, bay leaves, and possibly wine or grapes. However, the most striking discovery was the presence of resins belonging to the Burseraceae family, which originated in Asia or sub-Saharan Africa. This represents the first archaeological evidence of the use of incense in Pompeian domestic rituals.
In their analysis, the scientists relied on advanced laboratory techniques, through which they were able to accurately identify the smells that were burning.
Johannes Eber, an archaeologist from the University of Zurich and one of the study's authors, said that alongside local plants they found traces of imported resins, revealing the extensive trade links that connected Pompeii to the far reaches of the world
In one of the ritual vessels, the team found a rare tree resin, likely originating from tropical regions of Asia or Africa. The team notes that aromatic resins from the Arabian Peninsula and the African and Asian rainforests were traded alongside goods from India and sub-Saharan Africa, transported north across the Red Sea since at least the first century BC, and then shipped via Alexandria to the Italian ports of Porto and Puteoli, where specialized frankincense traders were based.
Scientists also discovered that grape extract was burned in domestic rituals, which aligns with Roman texts and images depicting the use of wine in religious rites. Maxime Rajo, a co-author from the University of Bonn, emphasized that this finding underscores the importance of integrating scientific analysis with traditional archaeological studies.
Researcher Philip W. Stockhammer concluded that combining modern chemical and microscopic analysis techniques made the daily religious practices of the people of Pompeii more tangible than ever before.
