To determine whether archaeobotanical remains of coriander were used for such treatments is in most cases impossible, as the archaeological context does not support such interpretations. An exceptional case is, however, a find of coriander fruits in a stockroom of a Roman military hospital in Neuss . According to Dioscorides, the consumption of the fruits positively affects one’s intellectual capabilities. Rutten suggests that fruits infected with the fungus Puccinia petroselini might cause this. In Egypt, the fruits are still sold for medical purposes. Pounded fruits are used for vertigo and as a carminative and tranquilizer . An aberrant use of coriander concerns adding fruits to incense mixtures, as was observed in many incense samples sold today at Egyptian spice markets. It is not known if this was also practiced in antiquity. In any cases, the specimens from Berenike do not support this kind of use. The only charred fruit was found together with 64 desiccated specimens in a trash-dump sample that originated from trench 13.Hazel is an Euro-Siberian species that is native to the Caucasus, west Asia, and Europe. In the Mediterranean area, this tree only grows on the mountains,large plastic garden pots such as on Mount Tmolos and the Mysian Mount Olympus, as mentioned by Theophrastus . It does not grow in Egypt.
The nuts of this tree thus belong to the food items that have been brought from the Mediterranean area to Berenike and Shenshef. The number of sub-fossil hazels that is recorded from Egypt is limited and, furthermore, confined to the Greco-Roman period. A much earlier record, dated to the predynastic period , concerns pollen that was found at Tell Ibrahim Awad in the Nile Delta . This location is outside its distribution area. Moreover, hazel is almost confined to the cool mountain slopes in its southern distribution area, like the situation in Crete. Its presence in Tell Ibrahim Awad, just like that in sediments near Carthage, can be explained as a result of long-distance transport, probably from substantial hazel populations in Italy and Turkey. Only fairly large pollen values or an increase in the hazel curve may indicate that the plant was locally cultivated or was part of the natural vegetation .Based on the distribution of its possible wild relative Cucumis sativus ssp. hardwickii Royle in the foothills of the Himalayas and other parts of India and in Arabia, it is widely assumed that the cucumber was taken into cultivation in India . If this is true, then its domestication must have been started earlier than 3000 BC, judging by the archaeobotanical records of cucumber from Sharh-i-Sokhta in Iran .
Cucumber was cultivated by the Greeks and Romans, who were also responsible for its further spread over the Roman Empire, as is evidenced by sub-fossil remains from Germany, Belgium, France, and Great Britain. The find of cucumber fruits in Deir el Medineh, which are dated to the Eighteenth Dynasty , indicates that the fruit was introduced in Egypt much earlier. Its identification on the basis of fruits only is, however, rather dubious as fruits of the cucumber are extremely irregular in shape. Theophrastus already describes three different forms, which are also referred to by Pliny : the Laconian , the cudgel-shaped , and the Boeotian. Pliny also mentions a quince-shaped fruit that was newly cultivated in Campania. Although the other Egyptian records of cucumber are small in number, they are more reliable as their identification is based on seed morphology and are all dated to the Greco-Roman period. The juicy cucumbers must have been a highly appreciated food in Berenike and Shenshef. They might have been locally cultivated in kitchen gardens, although a more substantial supply would have been imported from the Nile Valley. Cucumbers were not only eaten, but also used in other ways. According to Pliny , myrrh was adulterated with cucumber juice to give it a bitter taste. As cucumber has an insipid, watery taste, which is in fact mentioned by both Theophrastus and Pliny , it is more likely that the bitter gourd is meant. Pliny also mentions a variety of medical uses of pounded cucumber seeds, partly in conjunction with seeds of cumin . Cucumbers were also used in the production of cosmetics, such as a depilatory cream that consisted of boiled, crushed bones of a bird, fl y dung, sycamore juice , gum, and cucumbers . Today, seeds of cucumber are still sold in spice markets in Egypt and are recommended for the treatment of diabetes as well as for the treatment of the swelling of the colon and as an antiseptic .
Cumin is a desert plant that grows in oases but cannot withstand severe dry heat or heavy rainfall . The plant produces many fruits, which contain 2 to 4 percent essential oil. The fi nely sulcate leaves, on the other hand, are of no special value. Cumin is, therefore, one of the kitchen herbs that is exclusively cultivated for its fruits. Only a few sub-fossil remains of cumin have been identified so far. They are recorded from the second millennium BC Tell ed-Der in Iraq , Iron Age Deir Alla in Jordan , and, in addition to Roman Berenike and Shenshef, from three other sites in Egypt, namely, pharaonic Deir el Medineh , Roman Mons Claudianus , and Islamic Kom el-Nana . Furthermore, a dubious identification of an imprint is recorded by Soderstrom from pre-Islamic Hajar Bin Humeid in south Yemen. Remarkably, the distribution of the sub-fossil remains does not coincide with that of the wild forms of cumin, which grow in central Asia along the river Kisilikun in Turkestan, considered to be the area of origin of this spice . This discrepancy can be explained by the backlog of archaeobotanical research in central Asia and the poor preservation conditions of the charred etheric fruits. Pliny mentions both cultivated and wild cumin, the latter one distinguished by its slender habitus and four or five serrated leaves. This description of the leaves, however, indicates that we are not dealing with a close relative of the cultivated cumin. The common name cumin is derived from the Greek kuminion, which in turn probably originates from the old Babylonian ka-mu-nu . As a common name, cumin is rather confusing as it is used for a variety of species, including the following ones that originate from the Old World and represent no less than three different plant families: Nigella sativa L. , Allium spp. , Cuminum cyminum L. , Pimpinella anisum L. , Trachyspermum ammi Sprague , and Carum carvi L. . Obviously, all these species have been evidenced for the Roman period from archaeobotanical remains. The fruits of cumin found at Berenike and Shenshef might either have been imported from the Nile Valley or have been harvested from locally cultivated plants. They could have been used for flavoring food as well as for all kinds of medical purposes. According to Pliny ,raspberry plant pot cumin was one of the most agreeable seasonings. Today, this kitchen herb is largely replaced by caraway . Nevertheless, fruits of cumin are still offered for sale in Egyptian spice markets and are recommended for the treatment of intestinal spasms, rheumatoid arthritis, and kidney stones .In this explanation, only the description of the grape is in concordance with current anatomical descriptions. Both the sycamore fig and the common fig can only be successfully pollinated by the symbiotic wasp Ceratosolen arabicus Mayr. Unfortunately, this wasp has probably not been present in Egypt since the early Holocene . Fruit production is, however, still possible by the development of fruits that have not been pollinated, a process that is called parthenocarpy. Although in both species specific forms exist that are parthenocarpic, in Egypt the only parthenocarpic forms found are those of the common fig . The production of accessory fruits without the small fruits by the sycamore fig in Egypt was already mentioned by Theophrastus . Therefore we can reliably say that the cultivation of the sycamore fig in Egypt, which must have already started in predynastic times and is nowadays restricted to the lower Nile Valley, has always been propagated by cutting. The presence of the fruits at Berenike and Shenshef indicate, therefore, that we are dealing with the common fig . Most likely, these figs were cultivated in the Nile Valley, and we must consider them parthenocarpic plants. The recovery of the fig in many excavations is not only facilitated by its suitable preservation properties and long-distance transport, but also by taphonomic processes.
The archaeobotanical remains of the fig mainly concern the small fruits, which are usually called “seeds.” These small fruits are swallowed and pass through the intestinal canal largely undamaged. Especially in archaeological feature types where dung is concentrated, such as cesspits, conditions for recovery are favorable. For two reasons, the number of figs found at Berenike and Shenshef is relatively low. In order to be able to process large quantities of samples, it was decided to sieve only a small number also through a 0.5 mm sieve, which is capable of retrieving the fruits of fig. Furthermore, trash layers that have been investigated so far are located in the built-up areas and it may be assumed that such locations were not considered as suitable latrines. During the excavations, in order to minimize the serious annoyance caused by flies, relieving oneself was facilitated by special latrines or one could go behind the high hillocks of the Tamarix nilotica, both situated at some distance from the campsite. Although advanced flushing latrines became a standard accessory of large settlements from the beginning of the Roman period onward, it seems highly unlikely that they were also constructed at Berenike or Shenshef due to the scarcity of water. It may be assumed, therefore, that in Roman times, too, most of the human dung was deposited far beyond the inhabited area. Due to the high sugar content of the fleshy part, the fig can easily be preserved by drying. In their dried state, figs can be stored for a considerable period and transported over large distances. These properties made possible the easy availability of the fig throughout the Roman Empire, including the northern part, which is outside its distribution area.This kitchen herb is very similar to dill , and Linné even classified fennel in the same genus as dill . What is characteristic of fennel are its life span and the fruit morphology, the latter being advantageous for archaeobotanical research. Fennel is a perennial herb and has oblong, channeled fruits. Dill, on the other hand, is an annual and has flatter fruits, although intermediate forms do exist. Jansen , who by the way argues for using its original Latin name, mentions that seed samples offered in Ethiopian markets mostly consist of a mixture of fennel, dill, and cumin . Seed samples that were obtained by the author in spice markets of Egypt turned out to be pure. Fennel and/or dill fruits have been recorded from Roman Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Libya, and Egypt. Obviously, fruits of dill were found in more than twice as many sites than fennel. In a number of sites both herbs were found. This pattern is also reflected in the sparse sub-fossil record of Egypt. The archaeobotanical evidence of both species supports to some extent the reliability of classical sources that sometimes also list both species together, such as Theophrastus . On the other hand, it is rather conspicuous that in describing the hair-like leaves of a particular plant, both Theophrastus and Pliny only present fennel as an example. Fennel has been cultivated for its roots, leaves, and fruits, the most valued being the aromatic fruits that contain 2 to 6 percent essential oils. Those from the first-produced umbels are the best. To prevent loss of the essential oil, the fruits should be dried in the shade . Besides its use for flavoring all kinds of food, in particular fish courses, it has also been used as a medicine. Because fennel is also cultivated for its fruit, it should have a good chance of recovery in archaeobotanical research. Nevertheless, the sub-fossil remains are sparse. This is not only true for Berenike, where only three fruits have been found so far, but also for other settlements in Egypt.