Incense from Africa and Asia, the secrets of the sacrifices in Pompeii revealed

The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. C., a huge catastrophe for the inhabitants of Pompeii at the time, represented at the same time an extraordinary opportunity for modern archaeology, thanks to the exceptional conservation conditions of the site. Among the preserved finds there are, in fact, also the ashes remaining in the incense burners used by the Pompeians for incense-based offerings to the deities, which experts from the Universities of Zurich, Munich, Bonn, Kiel and Dublin analyzed in collaboration with the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, using a series of cutting-edge laboratory techniques, focusing on the ashes of two incense burners, coming from Pompeii and from a villa in Boscoreale.

“Now we can concretely demonstrate which perfumes were actually burned in the Pompeian domestic cult – says Johannes Eber of the University of Zurich, coordinator of the study – In addition to regional plants we also found traces of imported resins – a clue to Pompeii’s extensive commercial connections”.

Of particular interest is one of the containers where remains of an exotic tree resin were identified, probably coming from tropical regions of Africa or Asia. “Molecular analyzes also indicate the presence of a product derived from grapes in one of the incense burners – explains Maxime Rageot of the University of Bonn, who conducted the biomolecular investigations of the study – This would be consistent with the use of wine in rituals depicted in Roman art and described in written sources, and at the same time demonstrates how important it is to integrate archaeological studies with scientific analyses”.

“The combination of different modern chemical and microscopic techniques suddenly makes the daily religious life of the inhabitants of Pompeii tangible,” adds Philipp W. Stockhammer of LMU Munich, in whose research group the study was initiated.

The Archaeological Park of Pompeii, which recently dedicated a new permanent exhibition to the eruption and its victims, also displaying a large number of organic finds such as plant remains, food and wooden objects, underlines the importance of this type of study: “Without Pompeii, our knowledge of the Roman world would be less rich – commented the director of the Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel – but it is a wealth of knowledge and data that only an archeology up to date can adequately valorise: thank you to integration with other sciences, we can still discover a lot about life in the ancient city.” The study therefore shows that Pompeii was not just a Roman city at the foot of Vesuvius, but was part of a global trade network, traces of which can even be detected in the scents of domestic altars. (by Paolo Martini)