Trees in Pharaonic Egypt
Trees in the pharaonic civilization
We may have already noticed the abundance, richness and diversity of plants in some aspects of the land of the Nile Valley.
We find, however, that the trees, in particular, were not a great and abundant representation. It seems clear that
There are two common types of bushy-leaved trees: the sycamore tree and the acacia tree. I have been
The Egyptians cultivated dom palm trees and dates to benefit from their fruits. And trees are
In addition to what was mentioned above, Ficus and willow are the only known species in the land of Egypt.
However, over the successive ages, the Egyptians were able to bring pomegranate and almond trees,
And lemons and olives: but all of them were grown only in the atmosphere of private orchards, where they required
Extreme care and attention.
From the country of Punt, Egypt brought huge sycamore trees with aromatic nectar. And during the afternoon
Queen – Pharaoh Hatshepsut, the supreme officer called “Nahsi”, was able to lead a commercial campaign
To the country of Punt, no less than thirty-one species of incense-producing trees were brought from it
and aromatic scents. It was planted secondly on the roofs of the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut in
Deir el-Bahari. It was necessary to dig the rocks of the mountain to prepare several pits to fill them with mud
fertile soil suitable for receiving these imported trees.
The Egyptians used the wood of ficus trees to make handles and the hands of some
Agricultural tools and machinery. As for the wood provided by the huge sycamore trees, it was used
whether in the creation of statues and shapes, or coffins of the common people, or commonly used furniture, or
Doors of all kinds. But the handles of weapons, and the mast and rudders of ships, were made of wood
Ficus tree. The uses of palm wood have been designated to serve as columns and veins within the scope of architecture.
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Initial initial.
At the same time, Egypt was importing some types of fine wood from abroad
the level. From Syria, cedar trees were imported to take their timber in the huge marine industries,
and the splendid sarcophagi, and the imposing gates of the great temples and royal palaces, and the rams that perch
The tops of the mighty edifices. From the deepest depths of the African continent, Egypt obtained black wood
Which we know in our time as “Ebony”. The Egyptians used him in “hében” Haban
Manufacture of luxury high-value furniture.
Sacred features marked some trees in Egypt. This is the case for everyone.
Willow and sycamore, which used to shade the corridors of the temples and their courtyards. And she got used to
Both the goddesses Hathor and Isis can be manifested from within one of the sycamore trees. The god Thoth is represented
The Ashmunites 0 in the form of a dom palm tree, about sixty cubits long. The palm trees symbolize
Also, as a sacred emblem, to both the provinces of Heracliopolis and Crocodilopolis. As for a tree
Turpentine is a symbol of the cities of Lycopolis (Assiut) and Qus in Upper Egypt. Finally, we may know that.
The column “Jed” is, in fact, but a tree stripped of its leaves and branches: by that.
The Syrian tree, the seedbed in which the body of the god Osiris was hidden.
The history of plants in Egypt, and evidence of its existence from remains in tombs and sites or drawings on the walls of temples and tombs, and its uses in ancient Egypt compared to its uses at present. Brief information was also provided about the whereabouts of this plant in Egypt now. It has attached to the description a drawing representing the plant, selected from the book Description of Egypt and historical books on Egyptian plants, or pictures of drawings on the walls of temples chronicling its existence and use, or pictures of its remains in tombs or from what is currently preserved in the museum. Agricultural or the Egyptian Museum.
The guide is divided into three sections; the first section is the section on flowers and aromatic plants, then the section on oil plants, and finally the section on trees.
Among the plants that it contains The first section is the papyrus plant, which is a huge grassy plant that grows up to 4 meters, its leg is triangular, and its flowers are branched threads. The papyrus is an African plant, but it also grows in central Asia and southern Europe. It was famous in ancient Egypt and was a symbol of the south of the country, and we often see it carved on columns as in Saqqara quot; Djoser temple Or a decree on the walls of the Eboy cemetery on the western bank of Luxor. It was used mainly for the manufacture of paper and boats. The ancient Egyptians also ate young stems and rhizomes after roasting and used them medicinally to treat wounds. Have they believed that he has magic recipes? The papyrus plant grows around the Pharaonic village where it was planted and is found in the gardens of the Agricultural Museum in Dokki and the Egyptian Museum. It is still used in the manufacture of papyrus that is sold in the shops of tourists.
As for reeds, it is a grassy plant that grows on the edges of canals and canals and reaches a height of two meters. It has a long stem that bears flowers gathered in its light. It grows in temperate and warm regions. The ancient Egyptians painted it on the edges of the ponds, as in the tombs and temples of the ancient and middle dynasties, and we see Ramses III in the hunting scenes on the walls of the temple. Habu quot; He stands in the midst of a reed bush. The stems of the reeds were also used in the work of pens, arrows and the flute, and the reed plant was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Reeds are abundant on the edges of canals in Egypt, and they can be seen on the way to Saqqara or around the islands in Aswan and Al-Qasr and growing in the garden pond of the Agricultural Museum in Dokki.
While we find the wormwood plant painted on the walls of many tombs, especially the cemetery of We will join forces on the western bank of Luxor. It is a small annual herbaceous plant with many stalks at the bottom and large red flowers at the top. It abounds in southern Europe on the edge of fields and roads. It grows in northern Egypt on the shore of the Mediterranean.
The Egyptians started cultivating it from the 12th Dynasty when seeds and flowers were found in some tombs of the middle dynasties. It was also used in the formation of funeral wreaths. Worm flowers are used in the beverage industry. It also gives dyes and seeds that are used in the manufacture of cakes.
Opium belongs to the same genus as worms and grows in Greece and East Asia. It was often brought to Egypt for cultivation since the dynastic era, as remains were found in several sites and sometimes in mummies. Opium was also used as an anaesthetic, and from the ripe fruit, a milky narcotic substance was extracted from which opium was made. There are strains of it grown for its fruits and used for decoration.
It is also one of the most important plants known to the Egyptian civilization; The sacred lotus plant, a tall aquatic plant that rises in basins 30 cm above the water’s surface, its flowers are white mottled with pink. Its fruit is like a disk with several large black seeds in the holes in the middle of the fruit. Originally from India, it was known in Egypt since the 18th Dynasty, where lotus seeds were found in the tombs of Deir el-Medina, and it remained in use until the Roman era when the Egyptians ate roasted seeds and roots. The lotus has become very rare in Egypt to find it only in the garden of the Agricultural Museum and the Egyptian Museum.
This section contains the blue and white basil plants, lily, mountain rose, chrysanthemum, cat’s eye, celery, coriander, basil, mint, marjoram, fenugreek, lupine, rose, and rose.
The second section of this guide includes 12 types of oil plants, such as flax, which we see in numerous drawings on the walls of tombs, such as the cemetery of Sandjam on the western mainland in Luxor. Examples of this linen are in the Agricultural Museum. Flax is a herb that grows over a period of two years, up to a meter in height, with spear-shaped leaves and blue or white flowers. Its origin is from southwest Asia, where it grows wild, and its cultivation began in Egypt in the pre-dynastic era with the beginning of agriculture in the Nile Valley. Its fibres were used to manufacture linen fabrics for clothes and mummies wraps, and oil (hot oil) was extracted from its seeds, which is added to some foods. Currently, the plant is rarely cultivated in Egypt, so linen fabric has become expensive.
Heglig is a medium-sized tree characterized by green bark and large thorns. Its fruits are oval in shape, similar to dried dates. Heglig grows in southern Egypt, especially in the eastern desert. It also grows in tropical Africa. Heglig seeds have been found in ancient sites since the beginning of the dynastic era, as in the pyramid of Djoser (Saqqara of Dynasty 3) and Abu Rawash (Family 3). The ancient Egyptians used it for medicinal purposes for its effectiveness in treating diabetes. It is currently grown in Wadi Allaqi in southern Egypt.
The author also provided information on almonds, sesame, radish, safflower, bitter melon, milkweed, and cherry.
The third section contained several types of trees, including tamarisk, willow, mulched, grapes, bass, dates, henna, carob, pomegranate, dominant palms, llura, and seban. The author started with the incense tree, a tree with fallen paperbark and compound leaves with three leaves, and its fruits are like mangoes, but they are small, and its flowers are small red. The ancient Egyptians tried to cultivate it in Egypt without success. Hatshepsut brought it from Puntland (Abyssinia). It grows in tropical Africa and southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. The story of bringing incense trees was engraved on the walls of the Deir el-Bahari temple, and the gum used as incense was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Amun, the ancient Egyptians used to burn incense in their temples, which is part of the funerary rituals. Burning incense is still an important Egyptian custom, and incense can be purchased in perfumers’ shops.
The buckthorn tree is characterized by a religious character, from its branches making the crown of thorns for Christ, while the seeds were used to manufacture rosaries. It is a large shady evergreen tree, with long branches and bright green oval leaves, with small arched spines, small yellowish-green flowers and small yellow-pink spherical fruits up to 2 cm in diameter. The tree grows in the deserts and valleys of North Africa and Western Asia.
The fruits and seeds of sea buckthorn were found in many archaeological sites from the prehistoric era. The ancient Egyptians used to enjoy the taste of its fruits, as they were eaten fresh or dried and ground, and the Egyptians still eat the fruits of the sea buckthorn, which are sold in front of schools.
The author defines the acacia tree as a deciduous evergreen tree, with compound leaves and small yellow flowers combined in spherical heads that grow in relatively tied areas but tolerate drought and are one of the basic components of North African plants. The ancient Egyptians have used its wood as fuel since prehistoric times. They made many tools from it because of its hardness. They also used the fruits (the pods) in tanning and extracted from the stem the gum that enters the preparation of dyes, and it has many medicinal uses. This gum was found in a cemetery in Tutankhamun. There are two drawings of the acacia tree with its distinctive flowers in the tomb of Khenhotep II in Beni Hassan and the tomb of Eboi on the western mainland in Luxor. This tree abounds on the edge of agricultural roads that connect between governorates, such as Saqqara Road.
According to the palm, the date palm, which is 30 meters long, is distinguished by the presence of long and large leaves and flowers that grow in distinctive inflorescences and are either feminine or male. Hence, the production of fruits (dates) requires the process of artificial pollination.
This tree is characterized by the high nutritional value of its fruits, eaten fresh or dried, from which honey is extracted, and alcoholic drink (arak) is made from it. Palmwood is also used as panels for the manufacture of bridges, doors and ferryboats in the countryside, while the fronds (leaves) are used to manufacture baskets and mats. The leaf is used in the furniture industry and fibre in the rope industry. The palm abounds in the oases, where there are dense forests. It is also widely planted in the delta and the south and can be seen on the Saqqara agricultural road.
This palm grows in abundance in North Africa and Western Asia and is believed to have its origin in Mesopotamia. The palm was sacred to the ancient Egyptians. It symbolises the renewal of life and the passage of time because it is a leaf every lunar month. The date palm was planted in Egypt in the prehistoric era, where it was found Remains of fruits, seeds and even date cakes in tombs from all ages. The shape of the palm tree was also used as an artistic element to decorate columns in temples, as in Abu Sir and Shahour, and drawings of the palm arose in tombs such as Minkhet and Snover on the western mainland in Luxor.
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The comprehensive encyclopedia of pharaonic civilization
Written by: Ji Rasheh