Sebesten fruits (Cordia myxa L.) in Gallia Narbonensis

Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404
DOI 10.1007/s00334-011-0285-3
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Sebesten fruits (Cordia myxa L.) in Gallia Narbonensis
(Southern France): a trade item from the Eastern Mediterranean?
Laurent Bouby • Anne Bouchette • Isabel Figueiral
Received: 3 September 2010 / Accepted: 18 February 2011 / Published online: 1 March 2011
Ó Springer-Verlag 2011
Abstract Archaeobotanical studies carried out by rescue
archaeology at Nı̂mes and Marseille (Southern France)
provided evidence of Cordia myxa during the 2nd and 3rd
centuries A.D. The fruit stones were found both waterlogged
in domestic contexts and charred in a cremation grave
(plant offering). Data from these finds and a survey of
historical documents and archaeobotanical literature are
combined here to discuss the origins and uses of these
fruits in the western world.
Keywords Cordia myxa Roman period Trade Mediterranean
Introduction
The recent discovery of Cordia myxa stones in Roman
contexts from Gallia Narbonensis (Marseille and Nı̂mes)
(Fig. 1) came as a surprise and raises a number of questions
about the origin and use of these exotic fruits during the
Communicated by M. van der Veen.
L. Bouby (&)
CNRS, Centre de Bio-Archéologie et d’Ecologie,
UMR 5059, UM2/CNRS/EPHE, 163 Rue A. Broussonet,
34090 Montpellier, France
e-mail: [email protected]
A. Bouchette
INRAP Méditerranée, Archéologie des Sociétés
Méditerranéennes, UMR 5140/CNRS/UM3/INRAP/DRAC,
561 Rue Etienne Lenoir, Km Delta, 30 900 Nı̂mes, France
I. Figueiral
INRAP Méditerranée, Centre de Bio-Archéologie et d’Ecologie,
UMR 5059, UM2/CNRS/EPHE, 163 Rue A. Broussonet,
34090 Montpellier, France
Roman period. As far as we know these finds, from the 2nd
and 3rd centuries A.D., are the only archaeobotanical
records of this species in France.
Genus Cordia (Boraginaceae) includes hundreds of tree
and shrub species growing across the tropical and subtropical areas of America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Only
two of these species grow in the Mediterranean region, in
northern Africa and in south-western Asia. These are
C. sinensis Lam and C. myxa L. (Davis 1978; Greuter et al.
1984; Warfa 1990; Arbonnier 2002; Cappers 2006; Kislev
2008). Apparently C. sinensis is native in Egypt, in the
Israel-Palestine area and in the Arabian Peninsula. The
origin of C. myxa is less clear. Depending on the sources, it
originates from tropical Asia, the Near- and Middle-East or
Egypt. Typical C. myxa L. appears to be a cultivated plant,
which became naturalized in the area stretching from
southern Iran to northern and tropical Africa, including
southern Anatolia, Chios, Rhodes, Cyprus, the Near-East,
the Arabian Peninsula and the coastal areas of Egypt
(Davis 1978; Kislev 2008).
The sebesten (C. myxa)—also called sebesten plum—is
a tree or shrub, ca. 7–12 m high, which grows on deep
moist soils, such as river banks. The tree keeps its leaves
for most of the year. These are broad, alternate, ovateelliptic shaped. The inflorescence carries numerous white
flowers. Fruits are round to ovoid shaped drupes, about
15–20 mm in diameter, arranged in clusters (Arbonnier
2002; Cappers 2006; Kislev 2008). Their white-yellow
color turns blackish when dry. The pulp, very tough and
mucilaginous, is edible and has a sweetish flavor. It can be
consumed fresh, dry and pickled. According to the ethnohistorical sources, fruits of C. myxa have been eaten until
recently by human communities in spite of their slightly
astringent taste when fresh (Oudhia 2007; Kislev 2008). In
tropical Africa, the ripened fruits are eaten fresh while the
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Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404
carried out in the port area, under the direction of A.
Hesnard and M. Pasqualini (AFAN) (Hesnard 1994;
Morhange et al. 1996).
Nı̂mes, was a major city of Gallia Narbonensis (Breuil
2010) whose encircling rampart protected an area of ca.
200 ha. Rescue excavation work carried out by INRAP,
along the length of a main city avenue prior to the construction of an underground car park, uncovered a prosperous residential area with its own well.
Materials and methods
Fig. 1 Location of Nı̂mes and Marseille (art work S. Ivorra, CNRS)
green fruits are eaten either fresh or pickled. They are also
used to flavour sorghum beer and food. The seed can also
be eaten (Oudhia 2007; Arbonnier 2002). In Egypt, dried
fruits are still sold today in the spice markets as sapistan
and are used as medicine (Cappers 2006). In Egypt and the
Near-East, the mucilaginous pulp is used to make a firstquality glue to catch migrating birds. According to Kislev
(2008, p. 134) Cordia trees would have been grown in
Egypt not so much for human consumption but to produce
birdlime. This was extensively used to trap the numerous
migrating birds on their route from Europe to Africa, their
migration coinciding with the ripening season of Cordia
fruits in Egypt.
Sebesten plums have analgesic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, emollient, lubricating, softening and laxative
properties. Recent scientific studies have confirmed some
of these properties when applied to rats (Oudhia 2007).
They are still widely used as traditional medicine for
coughs, chest-complaints, inflammations of the digestive
and urinary tract in tropical Africa (Oudhia 2007) and in the
Near and Middle East (Kamal 1975; Isaacs and Baker 1994;
Lev 2007; Lev and Amar 2008), and were also used in
Western Europe, towards the 18th and beginning of the 19th
centuries (Barbier 1837; Mouchon 1848). In Africa, the fruit
pulp is also employed to treat diarrhoea, dysentery, tuberculosis, wounds, ulcers, to calm abscesses and rheumatic
pains and as a vermifuge (Arbonnier 2002; Oudhia 2007).
Archaeological background
Marseille (Gk Massalia), founded by the Phocaeans around
600 B.C., was a major city of the Western Greek world.
Despite a decline in importance during the Roman period,
its port went on playing an important role in the active
Mediterranean trade, as shown by rescue archaeology
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Seven archaeobotanical samples were taken from the
refuse deposits forming the infilling of the harbour of
Marseille. These uniform deposits are mainly formed by
refuse generated from port activities and nearby domestic
dwellings.
Samples are dated between the 1st and 4th centuries A.D.
The exact volume of the samples is unknown but is estimated at 25l in total. Wet sieving of the sediments was
carried out using 4, 2, 1 and 0.5 mm meshes.
The stratigraphy of the well from Nı̂mes (PT 5053), ca.
15 m deep, was composed of seven upper dry levels and
four lower waterlogged levels; 235 litres of sediments were
sampled from the waterlogged levels. From these, 49 litres
were wet sieved using meshes of 5, 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.2 mm
while a 5 and a 2 mm mesh were employed for the
remaining sediment.
Further field work also uncovered a burial area (78,
Avenue Jean Jaurès) comprising 43 tombs, including
inhumations and cremations (excavated under the direction
of V. Bel). From these only one, Grave 1055 (Fig. 2)
located in the western area of the cemetery, provided evidence of C. myxa.
This carefully assembled grave contained the remains of
an adult (unspecified sex) together with grave goods such
as one coin, vases, bowls, bottles, lamps, one plate, and
perfume containers (‘‘balsamaire’’). The lowermost sediments covered a surface of 1.75 m 9 1.20 m and were
entirely wet sieved (5, 2 and 0.5 mm meshes).
Results
At Marseille, the majority of the plant remains from the
Roman levels is waterlogged; charred material never attains
1%. Based on ca. 60,000 plant remains (estimated), 159 taxa
have been distinguished. Assemblages identified apparently
derive from domestic waste. Edible fruits dominate
(Table 1), mostly as a result of the abundance of Ficus carica
(fig) and Vitis vinifera (grape). Cucumis melo/sativus
(melon/cucumber), Morus nigra (mulberry), Olea europaea
Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404
399
evidence of diverse biotopes (cultivated fields, wasteland,
dry areas, prairies, humid habitats).
In the funerary ensemble from Avenue Jean Jaurès, the
cremation grave 1055 provided a large amount of charcoal
fragments; their analysis testifies to the use of Erica
(heather), Quercus (deciduous and evergreen oak), Olea,
Pinus pinea (pine) and possibly Fraxinus (ash) as fuel
during cremation.
Plant offerings were also present and include sparse fruit
and endocarp remains of Olea, whole kernels, kernel
fragments and cone scale fragments of Pinus pinea,
endocarps of Prunus domestica ssp. insititia (damson
plum), whole fruits and endocarps of C. myxa (Fig. 3) and
endocarp fragments of Phoenix dactylifera (date palm).
Funerary offerings from the other tombs of this burial
ground also include cereals (Triticum sp.—wheat), pulses
(Vicia faba—faba bean, Lens culinaris—lentil, Lathyrus
sp.) and other fruits (Vitis vinifera and Ficus carica).
Allium sp. is also recorded.
In short, Cordia remains available up to now include
waterlogged material, two stones from Marseille, one from
Nı̂mes (Parking Jean Jaurès) and charred material from
Nı̂mes, 78 Av. Jean Jaurès (grave), with 3 complete fruits
and 12 stones. Stone dimensions vary according to preservation (Table 2) but closely match those of modern C.
myxa.
Discussion
Fig. 2 Nı̂mes, Avenue J. Jaurès, Tomb SP 1055 (photograph V. Bel,
INRAP)
(olive), Prunus avium (sweet cherry) and Rubus fruticosus
(blackberry) are also well represented. Herbaceous cultivated plants such as Anethum graveolens (dill), Apium
graveolens (celery), Coriandrum sativum (coriander) and
Papaver somniferum (poppy) appear more sporadically.
Wild herbaceous plants represent diverse habitats—weeds,
ruderals, plants from sandy/dry areas, meadows and pasture
and humid areas. They are, however, small components of
the whole assemblage. Two waterlogged sebesten endocarps
were retrieved from two different samples (Fig. 3), one from
the 2nd century A.D., the other from the 3rd.
At Nı̂mes (Parking Jean Jaurès) well 5053 provided very
abundant seed/fruit remains (more than 10,000) with 112
taxa. A single kernel of C. myxa was found in a secondary
infilling, dated to the middle 2nd century—end of the 3rd
century A.D., in association with other cultivated/food
plants, one of them imported, Ziziphus cf. ziziphus (jujube)
(Table 1). Plentiful remains of Vitis vinifera, Ficus carica
and Cucumis melo/sativus were recorded. A diverse
assemblage of herbaceous and woody wild plants provides
Origin of the sebesten fruits in Gallia Narbonensis:
a trade item?
The finding of C. myxa fruit stones in Roman Southern
France is outstanding for Europe. C. myxa is not listed
among the exotic foods reported by archaeobotanical
studies in Roman Central and North Western Europe
(Bakels and Jacomet 2003; Livarda 2011). No European or
northern Mediterranean finding is reported in the archaeobotanical literature from 1981 to 2004 (http://www.
archaeobotany.de/database.html). As far as we know no
finds have been published since 2004.
We must not forget, however, that in the central and
western Mediterranean, archaeobotanical research of
Roman sites lagged behind for a long time. Recent developments may soon result in more plentiful finds of Cordia
as shown by the latest finds recorded from coastal sites.
C. myxa has been identified in the port of Zaton (Croatie)
during the 1st–3rd centuries A.D. (Sostaric et al. 2010,
www.palaeoethnobotany.com/posters.php) while Cordia
sp. has been recorded by Rousselet and Newton in an urban
context of the Late Republican port of Tarragona
(Catalunya, Spain) (Rousselet unpubl.).
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400
Table 1 Most important edible
fruits identified at Marseille
(Jules Verne), and Nı̂mes
(Parking J. Jaurès and Avenue
J. Jaurès)
X present, XX many, XXX very
abundant
Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404
Marseille
Place Jules Verne
Nı̂mes
Parking J. Jaurès
Nı̂mes
Avenue J. Jaurès
Age (century A.D.)
2nd–3rd
2nd–3rd
2nd
Cordia myxa
X
X
X
Corylus avellana
–
X
–
Cucumis melo/sativus
X
XX
–
Ficus carica
XXX
X
–
Juglans regia
X
X
–
Malus communis
X
–
–
Morus nigra
X
X
–
Olea europea
X
X
X
Phoenix dactylifera
–
–
X
Pinus pinea
Prunus avium
X
X
X
X
XX
–
Prunus domestica
X
–
–
Prunus domestica ssp. insititia
–
–
X
Prunus persica
X
X
–
Punica granatum
X
–
–
Pyrus communis
–
X
–
Rosa sp.
–
X
–
Rubus fruticosus agg.
X
X
–
Sambucus nigra
X
–
–
Sorbus domestica
–
X
–
Vitis vinifera
XX
X
–
Ziziphus cf. ziziphus
–
X
–
Fig. 3 Cordia myxa stones from Gallia Narbonensis: 1. Marseille, Jules Verne (waterlogged); 2. Nı̂mes, Parking Jean Jaurès (waterlogged). 3.
Nı̂mes, Avenue Jean Jaurès (charred). Photographs 1 A. Guey, CNRS, Centre d’Anthropologie; 2, 3 S. Ivorra, CNRS, CBAE
Considering our results one question must be asked:
Could C. myxa have been cultivated in the western Mediterranean, during the Roman period? This possibility can
not be dismissed without discussion despite the apparent
present day absence of this species.
Andres Laguna, a Spanish doctor, appears to have
observed, in A.D. 1555, a large sebesten tree in Sicily
(Garcia Sanchez and Ramon-Laca Menendez de Luarca
2001). Several species of Cordia (C. myxa excepted) are
still today cultivated in the island (Rapisarda et al. 1997).
Already during the Roman period, Pliny the Elder mentions
that this species had been acclimatized in Rome by the 1st
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century A.D. Ancient authors seem to be well acquainted
with this species and provide clear instructions concerning
its cultivation. Pliny (H.N., XVII, 14) and Columelle (De re
Rustica, XVII, 14) consider that any spiny shrub/tree could
be used as rootstock. The first author also mentions that
Cordia was grafted on rowan (H.N., XV, 12). Palladius, in
turn, declares that the fruit stones are sown and the plants
grafted on rowan or on blackthorn (Opus agriculturae,
XXV). The emphasis given to grafting could be considered
as a sign of the role played by this method in the acclimatization of this plant from the East, via the use of native
rootstock adapted to the local conditions.
Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404
401
Table 2 Dimensions of archaeological and modern Cordia myxa stones
Origin
Preserv. Length (mm)
Breadth (mm)
Thickness (mm)
Number
W
13
10
7
1
W
12.5
8.5
6
1
Nı̂mes, Parking Jean Jaurès
W
12
10
6.1
1
Nı̂mes, Avenue Jean Jaurès
C
11.5
8.8
5.6
1
C
9.9
7.8
5.6
1
C
12
–
–
1
C
7.8
5.3
3.6
1
C
10.1
–
–
1
Dried
11.8 (min 8.3/max 13.2) 9.03 (min 5.3/max 11.8) 6.13 (min 3.7/max 8.5) 50
Archaeological specimens
Marseille, Jules Verne
Reference material
Miqve Yisra’el (Botanic Garden,
Israël, Kislev 2008)
Madras (Botanic Garden, Paris, MNHN) Dried
10.9 (min 9.5/max 11.6) 10.4 (min 9.3/max 11.2) 6.5 (min 5.6/max 8)
6
C carbonized, W waterlogged
However, two important questions arise: How significant the acclimatization of the sebesten tree in Italy really
was? Were the authors mentioned above really as familiar
with this species as their texts suggested? Cappers (2006)
has noted that Pliny sometimes mistakes the sebesten tree
for the plum tree (H.N., XIII, 10.11, XV, 12). Moreover we
must question the reliability of easy grafting between
species with such diverse genetic characteristics. In Africa,
the sebesten is apparently propagated by seeds and by
cuttings (Oudhia 2007). Ibn Al-Awwâm, a Hispano-Muslim agronomist who lived in Andalucia during the 12th
century explains, in his treatise Kitab al-Filaha (VII, 33),
that this shrub is not suitable for grafting, neither to
receive, nor for application on other trees. We must however mention that this author also sporadically commits a
few errors concerning the sebesten, for example confusing
it with the rowan (El Faı̈z 2000). Although it is usually
accepted that the sebesten was present in the gardens from
medieval Andalucı́a (Harvey 1992) this type of mistake
may suggest that this species was not really cultivated or
was at least uncommon (Garcia Sanchez and Ramon-Laca
Menendez de Luarca 2001).
In the end, we are confronted with a similar situation to that
from Roman Italy; indirect knowledge of the species, probably because it was not present locally in significant numbers.
Moreover, in our assemblages, the very low number of
finds of Cordia does not agree with the hypothesis of local
cultivation. During Antiquity, the fruits used in Western
Europe were more probably imported from the southeastern Mediterranean and Egypt, where C. myxa is today a
common species. It is in this area that the archaeobotanical
finds of Cordia are most frequent. C. sinensis is recorded in
Egypt since the Pre-dynastic period (Fahmy 2005), while
C. myxa is noted from the Middle-Kingdom onwards at
least (Newton 2002; Newton et al. 2005; Cappers 2006),
possibly since the Old Kingdom (Cappers 2006; Kislev
2008). The presence of branches and leaves in a tomb from
the Theban necropolis is considered as evidence of the
local presence of this species since the 12th dynasty
(Kislev 2008). Cordia is further recorded in Hellenistic,
Roman and Medieval sites (Van der Veen 1996, 2001,
2003; Cappers 1999, 2006; Newton 2002; Newton et al.
2005; van der Veen and Tabinor 2007; Kislev 2008). In the
Near East, C. sinensis is identified during the Roman period (Kislev 1992) and C. myxa during the Islamic period
(Kislev 2008). Further west, at Carthage, Cordia is noticed
during the Byzantine period (Van Zeist et al. 2001).
Reference to the trade of sebesten fruits from the East
into Western Europe is found in medieval and modern
documents. In Jerusalem, trade documents from the 11th
and 12th centuries mention the purchase of sebesten fruits
for export (Lev and Amar 2007). During the 14th century,
fruits from the Near-East reached Barcelona via Sicily
(Garcia Sanchez and Ramon-Laca Menendez de Luarca
2001). In the 18th century they are imported by the English, from Egypt and the Near East (Hill 1751) and also by
the French (via the port of Marseille) from Sidon (Anonymous 1784). No written sources testify to this commerce
during Antiquity but sebesten fruits could already have
been easily transported. Written sources from the 3rd–5th
centuries A.D. mention the preservation of sebesten fruits
via drying before storage in barrels (André 1981, p. 87).
They could also have been pickled, both preserving
methods still in use today (Cappers 2006).
The nature of the archaeological contexts also supports
the hypothesis of trade. During the Roman period, Marseille was already a port open to the Mediterranean trade.
Jean Jaurès is located in a wealthy part of the Roman city
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402
of Nı̂mes where other exotic species, probably imported,
are also recorded (Phoenix dactylifera in the grave and
Ziziphus cf. zizphus in the well).
The existence of trade between Southern France and
Northern and Eastern Africa during Roman times is already
illustrated by characteristic archaeological remains, especially amphorae. Imports of oil and fish staples, especially
from North Africa, already exist during the 1st and 2nd
centuries A.D. but increase significantly during the 3rd–4th
centuries (Laubenheimer 1990). In Southern Gaul, the
arrival of luxury goods, especially from the 4th/5th centuries onwards, also testifies to this commerce (Pieri 2005).
The importation of sebesten fruits might be early evidence
(2nd–3rd centuries) of this trade with the southern and/or
eastern Mediterranean. Sebesten fruits may have followed
the same routes used during the Middle Ages and Modern
times.
Potential uses of sebesten fruits in the Gallia
Narbonensis: food, medicine, symbolism
Why would sebesten fruits be imported into Europe,
especially as shipping costs must have greatly increased
their price? As already mentioned in the introduction, these
fruits were used (in the distribution area of C. myxa) as
food, medicine and in the production of birdlime.
Imports of these fruits for the sake of making glue, is a
hypothesis difficult to take into account. It would be better
to import the finished product, as happened later on
(Modern period), and the fruit stones would not be found.
The ‘Alexandrian’ or ‘Damascus’ glue, as it was known,
was imported from Egypt and the Near-East (Anonymous
1784; Kislev 2008). In France, this kind of glue remained
rare, when compared with the use of the one obtained from
Viscum album or the bark of Ilex aquifolium (Anonymous
1784; Mérat and De Lens 1837). We believe that this
hypothesis can be ruled out.
It is difficult to make a clear separation between food
and medicinal uses. These two uses were usually associated
both in Africa and in the northern Mediterranean area.
Only recently has this separation become usual.
It is possible that sebesten fruits might have been used in
Gallia Narbonensis both as food and as medicine. We
recall however that the documents mentioning the use of
these fruits in Europe always give emphasis to their
medicinal properties. These were already known during
Antiquity.
They are not mentioned by the ancient doctors, such as
Discoride and Galien, but by the 4th–5th century Paulus
Aegineta, Théodore Priscien and Caelius Aurelianus were
acquainted with their medicinal properties (Hill 1751;
André 1981). Already during the 1st century A.D., Pliny
(H.N., XXII, 57) mentions a recipe associating boiled
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Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404
sebesten fruits, wheat bran, oil and dried figs to treat tonsillitis and throat ailments. In short, written sources seem to
show that sebesten fruits were used in Rome more as
medicine than as food (André 1981, p. 80).
Again during the Modern period the medicinal properties
of these fruits were the main reason why they were imported
to Western Europe (Hill 1751; Anonymous 1784). Precisely
in our region, their use was prescribed by the Montpellier
Doctor Guilhem de Béziers (end 13th–beginning 14th century A.D.) (Mc Vaugh et al. 2003). The two prescriptions by
Guilhem de Béziers associate sebesten fruits and jujubes
(Mc Vaugh et al. 2003). Around the end of the 18th–beginning of the 19th century the importation of dried sebesten
fruits to France appears to have declined due to their
replacement by jujubes; this species, with similar therapeutic
properties, was by then cultivated in Southern France, Italy
and Spain (Barbier 1837, Mouchon 1848). We recall that, at
Nı̂mes (Parking Jean Jaurès), Ziziphus cf. ziziphus is the
single exotic fruit associated with Cordia.
All the information gathered suggests that, in southern
France, sebesten fruits were well known due to their
medicinal properties, although they might have also been
eaten. In fact, both at Nı̂mes (well) and at Marseille (port)
Cordia is associated with other food remains.
The presence of Cordia in the cremation grave from
Nı̂mes, Avenue Jean Jaurès, should be regarded as direct
evidence of its use as a plant offering. It could have been
offered for its food/medicinal value, as an indication of
high social status (being a rare exotic, probably expensive,
fruit) or for its cultural/symbolic value. Seeds and fruits
encountered as offerings in Roman burials can often be
connected to symbolic values, known from Latin texts
(Marinval 1993). In the grave from Nı̂mes Cordia is
associated with typical Roman ritual fruits such as Phoenix
dactylifera and Pinus pinea (e.g. Bouby and Marinval
2004; Kislev 1988; Marinval 1993, 2004). In Western
Africa, C. myxa is still today charged with magical and
religious meaning and used in mourning rituals (Arbonnier
2002). Such symbolism could also have existed in Egypt,
where Cordia is mentioned in various funeral contexts until
Predynastic times (Fahmy 2005). Endocarps are reported in
Pharaonic (Thebes; 12th dynasty) and Roman (Douch,
Hawara) funeral sites (Kislev 2008; Newton et al. 2005).
The symbolic meaning of Cordia could then have crossed
the Mediterranean Sea.
We cannot rule out the hypothesis that the use (food,
cultural or symbolic) of sebesten fruits in Southern Gaul
would be connected to the presence of foreigners. Roman
texts indicate that the presence of people of eastern origins
was growing at the time in this part of the Gallia Narbonensis. Jewish, Greek, Syrian and Egyptian merchants
were established in the towns of the Rhône valley, especially Arles and Marseille (Pieri 2005).
Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404
At Nı̂mes, one of the dwellings from the prosperous
residential area adjacent to the excavated well yielded a
refined mosaic depicting stylistic elements with a strong
connection with Northern Africa (Boislève et al. 2011;
Houix et al. 2011). This might reflect the local presence of
foreigners. However, no trace of this possible foreign
presence has been detected in the tombs excavated (Bel,
personal communication).
A similar situation seems to characterize the therapeutic
use of Cordia during the Middle Ages. During the 12th–
13th centuries, the University of Montpellier is highly
influenced by Jewish-Arab Medicine, partly as a result of
the presence of Arab and Jewish individuals, some teaching, others translating the texts by the great Arab doctors
(Harant and Vidal 1955). Guilhem de Béziers himself had a
great regard for the Jewish-Arab Medicine (Mc Vaugh
et al. 2003).
Conclusions
The unusual finds of C. myxa stones raise questions concerning the origin and use of these Eastern fruits in the
Gallia Narbonensis during the 2nd–3rd centuries A.D. The
development of archaeobotanical research in the Mediterranean region will hopefully provide new data towards a
better understanding of the presence and spread of these
fruits in the Northern Mediterranean.
The diversity of our archaeological contexts in association with written documents allow us to suggest that
sebesten fruits were imported from the South-eastern
Mediterranean, Egypt or possibly North Africa.
This constitutes early evidence of commerce, well
documented by written sources for the Middle Ages and
the Modern period. These fruits were probably used both as
food and medicine. However, written documents suggest
that imports may have owed much to their medicinal
properties. The presence of these fruits and their possible
cultural/symbolic use as funerary offerings could be connected with the presence of foreign people from the south
eastern Mediterranean or northern Africa. However no
archaeological evidence of this presence has been detected
in the tombs excavated.
Acknowledgments Thanks are due to R. Cappers, M. Kislev,
J. Morales, C. Newton, M. van der Veen for the useful information
provided for the identification of the Cordia stones. We also thank
M. Pauthier and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris) for
allowing access to herbarium specimens as well as C. Newton,
O. Rousselet and R. Sostaric for allowing us to mention their findings of
Cordia stones in Spain and Croatia. The help of S. Ivorra, V. Lelièvre
and A. Guey (Illustrations) is also gratefully acknowledged. Bibliographical references and unpublished information have been provided
by V. Bel, J.-Y. Breuil, M. Bonifay, J.-P. Darmon, S. Esclamanti, E. Lev
and P. A. Schäfer for which we thank them. This work has received
403
financial support from programs ANR Fructimedhis and Bioarcheodat.
Thanks are also due to the reviewers who significantly helped us to
improve the manuscript.
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