During the 2007-2008 excavations at Pyrgos-Mavroraki, a series of preliminary archaeometric analyses were performed, in parallel with the archaeometric investigations, on organic sedimentsselected from the interior of a number of artefacts from the necropolis at Erimi (Table no.1).
The Chemical Investication
Sediments selected from vases coming from “Pitharka” cemetery: tomb 119 (artefact no. 1) and tomb 115 (artefacts 2 and 11) were treated with the standard method used to extract alkaloids (Fejgi M., 1989), namely chloroform acidified with HCl. After the material cooled, its colour had changed to the green typical of the azulene compound contained in chamomile (Pedretti A., 1997). To further confirm the compound thus identified, a few drops of an ether-iodine solution were added to the extract (Marquis reaction, Benigni R., Capra C. and Cattorini P. E., 1962-1964). The extract turned orange and produced the colourless precipitate specific to azulene-based essences (Fejgi M., 1989).
The sediments from these artefacts, which in the past had already been characterized by the presence of tartaric acid, were separated with alcohol and treated initially with a diluted, then gradually concentrated, HCl solution. The compound turned to the sky blue colour (Fig. no. 2) specific to oleoresin, a typical compound present in Origanum majorana L., Origanum syriacumssp. bevanii, Majorana hortensis MOENCH., Origanum cordifolium and Origanum majorana var. tenuifolium, which are present in Cyprus’s various plant communities (Meikle R.D., 1977, 1985).
Next, the results thus obtained were confirmed by examining certified synthetic samples (British Chemical Standard 325, Organic Basic, from Organic Ventures, Inc., ISO 9001, Lakewood, N.J., 08649) of azulene naphthalene, which is present in nature in the form of C10H6 (Marfori, P. and Putti, A., 1954), and of olorin. After the presence of azulene and olorin had been confirmed, gas chromatography was used to identify the nature and percentages of the different compounds.
The Gas Chromatographic Investigation
To verify the analysis protocol, a sample of commercial natural chamomile (certified by Ecocert SA, the organization that verifies the conformity of organic products to European, Japanese and American legislation) was prepared for the gas chromatographic analysis in parallel with the archaeological samples, and treated as an unknown sample.
Both samples were desalted, treated with methylene chloride (Stahl, E., 1969) and placed in silicon capillaries (mod. HP ultra 2). They were then analysed with the gas chromatograph, starting at 30°C and ending at 320°C, with energy at 70 eVe. The results obtained with the certified commercial sample and the archaeological samples are comparable (Fig. no. 2). The samples from artefacts from tombs 119 (no. 1) and 115 (nos. 2 and 11) are characterized by the presence of azulene, bisabolol, flavonoids and coumarins, in very similar quantities, whereas in the sediments from the artefacts from tomb 92 (no. 3) and tomb 121 (no. 1), the analysis confirmed the presence of olorin, sabinene, linalol, citral, carvacrol and eugenol, all of which can be referred to the genus Origanum.
The two chromatograms were compared with the NIH-EPA database for comparative libraries, and in both cases the diagnosis was chamomile.
To complete the investigation, the watery component and the ashes of the two samples were measured with a gravimetric muffle (mod. LECO 400). The results of this analysis are summarized in Fig. 3.
The morphologic investigation, performed with a optical video-stereo-microscope (10×5; Fig. no. 1) showed the presence of roundish carbonized elements. Most likely the material was originally in a liquid state (Lentini, A, 2005), and in precipitating it thickened and took on a granular shape.
Vegetation and Environments
The results of the archaeometric investigation of selected samples from the Erimi necropolis make it possible to draw some conclusions about the ancient landscape and the seasonal production of the compounds involved.
In the Mediterranean region, wild chamomile (Zangheri, P., 1976) is an anthropocore species that typically grows on the edges of tilled fields and in other places where human activities are present. Known in the officinal pharmacopoeia for its therapeutic properties, it was described and classified on the various islands by Pliny (XIII, 2-VI, 7) and Dioscorides for health purposes. The name chamomile includes all the plants in the Compositae family, such as Anthemis nobilis, Anthemis cotula, Anthemis tinctoriaand Matricaria chamomilla.Based on vegetational, geographic and ecologic characteristics of the species examined in this study, one can conclude that the chamomile found in the samples was obtained from plants growing in meadows (Pignatti, S. and Wikus, E., 1963). The seasonal flowering of these species indicates that they were harvested between late spring and early summer, the period when their azulene content peaks. The flowers were dried or pseudo-distilled with an intermediate form of steam distillation, without a metal serpentine, which is documented by particular pottery types found on Cyprus (Belgiorno, M. R., 2006). This method exploits certain characteristics that depend on the different volatility rates of terpenes and on the fact that they are nearly always insoluble in water. When the vapour condenses, the extract (oil) will either float on the water or precipitate, depending on its density.
Marjoram, a species of the genus Origanum,originated in the Mediterranean/Near East area. In The warmer climates, it is part of the plant communities that grow at medium-high altitudes, around 1000 meters above sea level. Marjoram is used as an aromatic in different contexts (as an essential oil, in cookery, as an ingredient in unguents, perfumes and elementary medical preparations, and as a disinfectant). It differs from Origanum vulgarein its smell (similar to that of thyme) and its more delicate taste. As various sources attest, marjoram has had an important place in the traditions of Cyprus (Belgiorno, M. R., 2007), Italy and Greece (Donato, G., Branca, M. E. and Rallo, A., 1975). Because of its pungent odour, marjoram was used as a air disinfectant during epidemics: people would burn mixtures of marjoram, thyme and mint in large braziers.
Conclusions
The substances characterized in this study were obtained from officinal plant species typical of the Mediterranean area. These substances are among the ones best known and documented for the pre-classical civilizations of the Near East and the Mediterranean, despite the volatility of some of them. Olorin (genus Origanum), in the form of an essential oil, was a fundamental ingredient in the perfumes most used in antiquity, as documented at Amarakinon (Cyprus), Magalium, Sampsukinon and Telinum (Greece and Italy; Donato, G., Branca, M..E. and Rallo, A., 1975), and as an indispensable element in the officinal evolution of unguents, from Persian oil, the oldest, to the Rhodes unguent to the better known and more widely spread Royal Unguent. These findings indicate how extensively known this officinal species was among the ancient populations of the Mediterranean. Azulene (chamomile) has already been reported at Pyrgos (PY02 J616; Lentini, A., and Scala, G., 2006): Pliny described and classified chamomile on various Mediterranean islands, noting its anti-spasmodic properties. As to more recent historical contexts, it has been reported at Tharros, Sardinia (Lentini, A., 1995) and Centuripe, a Hellenized town in eastern Sicily (Biondi, G. and Lentini A., 2008), likewise in burial grounds, which suggests that this species was also used in funeral rites.
Alessandro Lentini
CNR – Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, Rome – Italy.
Tags: Alessandro Lentini, ancient perfume, archaeobotanical data, Archaeometry and Archaeology, Ayios Tichonas, CNR – Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, cultivation of Vitis, Erimi, Erimi necropolis, fermentation, glycolysis, Kyrenia, Limassol Archaeological Museum, Materials and Method, Mavroraki, Perfume of Cyprus, Pitharka, Pyrgos, Pyrgos-Mavroraki, tartaric acid, wine amphorae
Picture Gallery
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- Table no. 1
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- Fig. no.1 Tombs 92 (artefact no. 3) and 121 (artefact no. 1)
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- Erimi, Necropolis Tomb 92, no. 3 – sky blue color, Origanum majoranaL.
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- pic. 87 Dioscurides (De Materia Medica), Codex THEATRUM SANITATIS XV century/Pic. 88 Perfume based on oreganon, created by François Coty in Paris, 1905, in purposely designed vial by Lalique.
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- Dioscurides (De Materia Medica), Codex THEATRUM SANITATIS XV century
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