A large quantity of juniper berries occupied several baskets, either alone or mixed with dates, raisins, coriander and other seeds. When Boodle came to examine them he noticed two kinds, which have been identified as different species - both of them nonEgyptian. The prickly juniper (J. oxycedrus) is only a shrub or small tree, whereas the Grecian juniper or eastern savin (J. excelsa) is a tree with a single straight trunk 20 m (65 ft) high and peeling bark.
The prickly juniper has three narrow, very sharply pointed (i. e. prickly) leaves about 10 mm (3/s in) long spreading out in all directions. Its fruit are smaller than the other species, being about 8 mm in diameter, dark brown in colour and with a yeasty bloom. They contain four to six seeds. Its distribution is from the mountains of south-east Europe to Central Asia and southwards only as far as Lebanon.
The more usually reported juniper species in Ancient Egypt is the Phoenician or brown-berried juniper (J. phoenicea) which occurs in Sinai, Jordan and around the Mediterranean, but its round red seeds were not found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. Lucas indicates that berries of J. drupacea of Lebanon also occur in tombs.
Juniper berries are resinous and aromatic, hence their many uses since ancient times, especially medicinally and for mummification. They were incorporated between the layers of linen bandages around mummies and combined with natron, which preserved the flesh. Egyptian medical texts prescribe them as a diuretic and laxative. Their flavour was also imparted to foods such as stews; the pungent twigs flavoured grilled food. Juniper timber is durable, of good quality and has a wide range of uses. Moreover it is fragrant, and since it is reddish in colour, juniper wood may be that reported by Carter as the one used for various items of furniture in the tomb. Microscopic examination is required to confirm the identification of timbers and as far as I know none of the red wood has been studied, nor is it possible to do so at present. Lucas indicates that juniper wood (confusingly sometimes known as ‘cedar’ wood) was used for coffins and shrines. Juniper (‘cedar’) oil was employed for anointing dead bodies, so the presence of baskets of seeds in the tomb seems to have symbolic meaning.
World History
