Food for the Gods: New Light on the Ancient Incense Trade

The story of incense is one of the most intriguing in both eastern and western culture. From the first millennium BC to the present day it has been sought after and valued on a par with precious metals or gems. Although incense was a luxury, it was consumed in prodigious quantities by the ancient world, in temples and at funerals, but also in private homes. The papers in this volume look at the role of incense, primarily - though not exclusively - during the Roman period. It is hoped that they will provide a starting point for further research into this important, but neglected, area of social and economic archaeology.Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Introduction (David Peacock and David Williams) The incense kingdoms of Yemen: An outline history of the south Arabian Incense trade (Caroline Singer) Basalt as ships' ballast and the Roman incense trade (David Peacock, David Williams and Sarah James) The Port of Qana' and the incense trade (Alexander Sedov) Frankincense in the 'triangular' Indo-Arabian-Roman aromatics trade (Sunil Gupta) Incense in Mithraic ritual: the evidence of the finds (Joanna Bird) Incense and the port of Adulis (David Peacock and Lucy Blue) Frankincense and myrrh today (Myra Shackley) Bibliography