Although it may not be excluded, it seems unlikely that A. tortilis once grew on the site proper. This tree penetrates the coastal plain via the main wadi branches but is not found today in the near vicinity of Berenike. Both its salt non-tolerant status and its deep, penetrating root may prevent successful establishment on this limestone outcrop in a salt-marsh area. More to the south, however, a large population of A. tortilis is present in the coastal plain area. Such a population of trees would certainly have been more accessible than the more scattered specimens in the middle and upstream part of the wadis. Another possibility that might explain its presence at Berenike is that we are dealing with plant remains that may have partly entered the trash deposits by natural agents. The use of large, spiny branches for fencing off kitchen gardens to protect them against grazing animals, as has been observed in Marsa Alam, 140 km north of Berenike, probably offers the most plausible explanation. Such branches will have disintegrated in the course of time and will have supplemented the soil with their diagnostic parts.
A similar use has been described by Wood for dead branches of nabq ,vertical grow which are used to make thorn bush hedges in Yemen.One seed from a dump area belongs to the baobab. With its unusually thick trunk and slender branches, giving the impression that these above ground parts are out of proportion, this tree has a characteristic appearance. The baobab has its natural habitat in the dry woodland savanna south of the Sahara, where it is frequently associated with tamarind , a tree that has also been attested for Berenike by its seeds. Two baobab trees are also recorded from two different localities in north Yemen . Whether these are relics of a larger native population or have to be considered as introductions is not clear. The current distribution of the baobab in India is confined to the northern part, including the northwest coast along the Gulf of Cambay, where it grows in and around the old ports of Janjira, Chaul, and Surat . According to Burton-Page, the tree has to be considered as an early fifteenth century introduction. This rules out the possibility of an import from the Indian continent. On the other hand, the presence of a baobab seed in Berenike clearly demonstrates that it was traded in much earlier times and that an earlier introduction into India cannot be ruled out. If the seed unearthed from Berenike originates from the East African savanna, the most probable area of origin is northeast Sudan, from where it could have been offered for trade in Ptolemais Thêrôn, a port located at lat 18°40′ N and which was only accessible by small vessels .
As the baobab is almost not recorded from the Horn of Africa, a second possibility is that it originates from east tropical Africa, from where it could have been exported from Rhapta , according to the Periplus Maris Erythraei the only port of trade on the East African coast south of Opone. Because a return voyage from Berenike to Rhapta would take about a year and a half, its seems more likely that trade items from this area were subjected to distributive trade and offered for sale in the so-called “far side” ports in Somalia. This might also have been the case for the baobab. On the other hand, the uncertain status of baobab in north Yemen does not exclude the possibility that the baobab was imported from a far less distant place. The baobab is a highly valuable tree because all parts can be used in a variety of ways. The hard, indehiscent fruits of the baobab measure 15 to 20 cm in length and contain a great number of seeds imbedded in pulp. The seeds can be eaten fresh or roasted and contain up to 15 percent oil. The fruit pulp contains tartaric acid, which is also edible and can be mixed with water or milk. Additionally, both seeds and fruits have medicinal properties . Today, whole fruits, mostly sprayed with fancy colors, are offered for sale in fl orist shops and are used for making bouquets of dried flowers.Bulb remains of garlic have been evidenced from the Second Intermediate period until the Islamic period. In Berenike, a reasonable number of bulb bases and bulb scales from garlic were found in different trash dumps, giving the impression that garlic was cultivated locally and consumed in reasonably large quantities. Both garlic and onion are well represented in the archaeobotanical record of Egypt.
Within the spectrum of vegetables and herbs, both species belong to a small group of species that have a good chance of ending up in an archaeobotanical record. Edible parts from vegetables and herbs such as lettuce , thyme , and mint have a very small chance of being discovered, even in Egypt where preservation conditions are excellent, due to the extreme arid climate. If they are found at all, it is their seeds that are unearthed. This, in turn, is exceptional because these plants are normally harvested before seed setting. In fact, the few seeds that have been found can be considered as those meant for sowing or as seeds that originate from plants that have bolted, which makes more sense. Other vegetables and herbs, such as saffron, the orange-red stigmas of the crocus , are rare because they concern plant parts that cannot be propagated. When the edible parts of plants are also used for propagation, they are adapted to living in the soil, which favors a good preservation. This is the case with bulbs of garlic and onion and with the seeds and fruits of fennel , coriander , and dill . Almond is one of the fruits that has been imported to Berenike from the Mediterranean area. Although no large quantities were found, fragments are present in many samples and suggest that this fruit was available on a regular scale. In addition to the records from the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods, almond fruits as well as walking-stick handles made from the almond tree are recorded from several archaeological contexts dated to the Eighteenth Dynasty . It is a point of discussion whether the almond was cultivated in Egypt during this period. Germer , for example, is of the opinion that the tree was once cultivated in Egypt because the small pot found in Tutankhamen’s tomb not only contained fragments of the endocarp , but also some whole fruits. Apricot has its origin in eastern Asia and was introduced in the Near East around the first century BC. From there it was introduced into the Mediterranean Basin where it became a well-established horticultural element . Archaeobotanical records of this perishable fruit are extremely rare. In fact, the only finds from within the Roman Empire are recorded from Egypt. One of them originated from the sacred animal complexes near Saqqara. The building of these cemeteries was started in the Nineteenth Dynasty and they remained in use in the Ptolemaic period. As is suggested by Germer , the kernel unearthed must have come from the Ptolemaic period. A second kernel is recorded by Thanheiser from Kellis in the Dakhla Oasis and is dated to the Roman period . In Berenike, two fragments of apricot were found in trash layers in trench 10. The most likely origin is the Mediterranean area,rolling grow table although it may also have been cultivated in northerly-located Fayum. The presence of a perishable fruit in such a remote corner of the Roman Empire clearly refl ects the luxury status of the food supply, though it may not have been available on a regular scale.In Egypt, mangrove vegetation consists predominantly of the Avicennia marina species and is restricted to the Red Sea coast, especially south of lat 25° N. This kind of vegetation is for the most part confined to the tropics and is indicative of muddy tidal waters. In the delta of Wadi Gimal, some 100 km north of Berenike, this plant is partly covered by sand hillocks, as a result of the silting of the shoreline zone. Apparently, A. marina can withstand the absence of nutritious mud to some extent. Along the Egyptian Red Sea this plant has mostly a shrubby habitus. It is possible that, in antiquity, the mangrove vegetation was more widespread. According to Strabo , mangrove vegetation was present along the whole coast of the Red Sea. The comparison of the mangrove tree with the olive tree and the laurel is, however, misinterpreted by Strabo and Pliny . Both writers are talking about olives when they describe the mangrove vegetation.
This exploitation of A. marina has had a long tradition. In the past, leaves were used as camel fodder during the summer, and shepherds ate the soft, green fruits . This kind of exploitation would certainly not have endangered this plant species. According to Mandaville the leaves are merely second choice because their salty taste. Additionally, Drar mentions of the use of the mangrove as fuel, resulting in the destruction of the mangrove vegetation, especially between Quseir and Wadi Gimal. Also Schweinfurth had already mentioned the use of A. marina as firewood, pointing to the high quality of the charcoal because it remains hot for a considerable period of time. Additionally, Schweinfurth reports the suitability of the tough and branching stems for constructing houses and fences. Today, this kind of exploitation is probably nonexistent. Ababda nomads still use branches of the twisted acacia in combination with mats or driftwood for making their shelters, although more and more concrete houses are becoming the norm. In the Gebel Elba area among Bisharin nomads, it was observed that wooden houses are built from a variety of woody species that grow in that particular environment, including arched branches of Cocculus pendulus. Furthermore, A. marina can also be used for tanning purposes. Exploitation of the tree for this purpose has resulted in the destruction of several mangrove forests . The presence of both leaves and wood of A. marina indicates that whole branches were harvested. Huge quantities of charcoal and some leaves of A. marina, intermixed with a minor fraction of Suaeda sp, were found in trench BE96-11, located in an industrial area southwest of the central town of Berenike . Most probably, this early Ptolemaic dump can be related to the cutting down of mangrove vegetation in the near vicinity of Berenike. Strabo, who visited Egypt just after the annexation of Egypt by the Romans, mentions that there were some convenient landing places for ships in Berenike . This indicates that at that time the bay was not silted up and, therefore, would have been too deep for the mangrove vegetation. Leaves used as fodder would have been a welcome by-product in the cutting down of the mangrove vegetation. It is also possible that mangrove wood was exported to Arabia, where it is still used for various kinds of construction, including houses, and as firewood. The mangrove was once the main cargo of specially constructed dhows that exported it from the East African coast . The only other archaeobotanical record of A. marina originates from Abu Sha’ar, a Roman settlement along the Red Sea coast 20 km north of Hurghada . Large quantities of leaves have been found here.Although some of its English names suggest membership of the palm family, the sugar date or desert date in fact belongs to the Balanitaceae, of which it is the only representative in Egypt. The shape of sugar dates is quite irregular and resembles that of the real date. But this resemblance does not hold for the anatomy of the fruit or the morphology of the seed. The inner layers of the fruit are woody and resistant to decay. The outer soft part of the fruit is not present anymore in sub-fossil specimens. The fruit pulp has a high sugar content of about 45 percent, while the relatively small seed is quite soft and yields 40 to 60 percent balanos oil. Balanos oil was used for the production of all kinds of perfumes. Like alcohol, fats and oils are capable of absorbing and retaining odors.