SWEET MARJORAM (Origanum Marjorana) IN GRAECO-ROMAN BURIALS AT HAWARA
During excavations at Hawara by Flinders Petrie in 1889,1890,1911 and 1913, funeral wreaths made of sweet marjoram were discovered. The Middle Kingdom pyramid at Hawara and the surrounding area were used as a quarry and cemetery in the Graeco-roman period and the marjoram wreaths were from burials of this period.
The circumstances of the discovery's are not well documented " Over the mummies there were usually wreaths of flowers laid" (Petrie 1911,15) Newberry ( in Petrie 1889,47) reported that wreaths and a large quantity of fruits, seeds and leaves were found merely covered in dust and sand but preserved without much change. Newberry, implied the wreaths were also found in coffins. The custom of placing floral wreaths and flowers on mummies can be traced back to the beginning of the New Kingdom. Marjoram wreaths found by Petrie in 1889 and 1890(Petrie 1889,51;1890,46). Newberry describes them as being " in a wonderful state of preservation although they have lost all their aromatic odour. The loss of odour as detected by the human nose is not universal amongst ancient plant remains: several twigs of Myrtle( Myrtus communis) , with leaves still attached were found in the Hawara cemetery still retaining their aromatic smell( Petrie 1889,51).
The Hawara burials containing plant remains came from the area north of the pyramid (Petrie 1889,8). The earliest wreaths were probably linked to plain box coffins unpainted, with demotic scrawls. These contained elaborately bandaged mummies with wreaths on heads , pectoral garlands and staves of flowers bound together (Petrie 1889, 14-15). They are Graeco-Roman and seem to date to the first centuries bc/ad. The custom of placing wreaths on mummies may have continued as late as the fourth century AD, but the evidence is inconclusive. Wreaths held in the hand and placed on the forehead moulded and painted as part of the mummy casing have come from Meir, dating them to the first century AD. It is unclear from Petrie's reports, whether the placing of real wreaths continued in the " faiyumic" portrait mummies at Hawara, the majority of which date to the second and third centuries AD. Despite the lack of firm data, the great popularity of the wreath/garland motif might imply continued use of real wreaths in burials throughout the roman period. The Origanum fragments mentioned in this article would therefore date between the first century bc and the fourth century ad, this is about 500 years and may seem rather broad but we cannot be more specific.
The genus Origamun is a member of the family Lamiaceae, most of which are rich in essential oils. Marjoram is a plant with small, white flowers that grow in bunches. The Greeks knew the plant well and took it as the symbol of honour and love. Legend recounts how Venus washed and healed Aeneus‘ wounds using this plant. It was also valued, even then, as much for culinary as medicinal purposes, and we find it mentioned in recipes left to us by Apicius. Sweet marjoram has been used for centuries in different cultures. The Greeks used it in every day life for a cleansing agent; it was used to help relieve muscle spasms and an antidote to poison. It was also used in their burial ceremonies to bring peace to the souls of the dead
In her compendium of the botany of ancient Egypt , Germer (1985) showed that plants played an important role in human activities. She considers their uses under several different headings : ornaments; economic grains; fruits and vegetables; wine; cosmetics; textiles; dyes; plating materials; papyrus; writing materials; timbers; medicinal plants; smoking materials; and mummy garlands; and related uses in religion and mythology. Origanum Majorana does not grow wild in Egypt today, it may well of done so long ago but due to climatic changes, it is only found on Cyprus today. Three endemic species of origanum persist in Cyrenacia, Libya, which is home to several relict species. Other species of Origanum are of course common throughout Northern Europe.
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REFERENCES:
GERMER.R : Flora des phaonischen Agypten. Mainz am Rheim.
PETRIE W M F : Hawara 1889. London
PETRIE W M F :Kahun 1890. London
PETRIE W M F : Roman portraits and Memphis (1v). London
PETRIE WM F : The Hawara portfolio, painting of the Roman age. London
EDMONDSON, JOHN and BIERKOWSKI, PIOTR : Analysis of essential oils in funerary wreaths from Hawara. In Biological Anthropology and the study of Ancient Egypt. Edited by W V Davies and Roxie Walker. BMP 1993.
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