A Fragrance Workshop from the Mendesian Perfume Industry at Tell Timai, Egypt

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2012, a salvage excavation exposed a workshop at Tell Timai, the Greco-Roman-Egyptian city of Thmouis. The workshop consisted of a parallel line of amphora bases, piping, and ovens. Adjacent to it was a hoard of coins and jewelry dating the feature to the end of the reign of Ptolemy XII and the beginning of the reign of Cleopatra VII. Thmouis was a sister to the adjacent city of Mendes which was accorded the honor of being the source of the most desired fragrances in the ancient world. New evidence indicates that, by the 29th Dynasty, Thmouis was integrated into the economic, ritual, and political identity of Mences. Organic chemical analysis of residues found within the amphora proves that the workshop was indeed for the manufacture of a famous fragrance with sacred uses. The fragrance factory provides a unique snapshot of an industry renowned throughout the Mediterranean world through much of antiquity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 35656.0