Global Journal of Human Social Science, D: History, Archaeology and Anthroplogy, Volume 23 Issue 3

© 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue III Version I 51 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 D A Ramesside Stela Fragment with Unusual Offerings (Cairo Agricultural Museum, No.4286) Pomegranates originated in Mesopotamia, and appeared in Egypt during the Middle Bronze Age, 54 and were probably first introduced during the Middle Kingdom, 55 also, the earliest known archaeological evidence of pomegranates in Egypt dates to the Middle Kingdom or the Second Intermediate Period were used to make red wine and they frequently appear in bouquets and offering tables on walls paintings such tombs as Ineni (TT 81), Menna (TT69), Nakht (TT 52) and Sobek ḥ otep (TT63) and in a scenes displaying kings and high officials while they were offering pomegranates. 56 The earliest complete large desiccated pomegranate fruit dated to the New Kingdom and was found in the tomb of Djehwty (TT110) the overseer of the treasure under Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III. The pomegranate trees decorated several Egyptian gardens in the palaces and houses of King, Queens, and the élite, and afterward, these gardens become an integral part of Egyptian houses, in particular of royalty and élite, and also the garden was an integral part of tombs, funerary and cult temples, and the groves of terraced gardens lined processional routes and temple paths. In Ancient Egypt, the garden is planted with a great variety of trees providing shade and fresh fruits. In a text dated to the reign of Merneptah, Ramesses II’s son, (1213 - 1203 B.C.) we read about the beauty of the city of Pr-R ˁ -msw and also how it was rich in apples, olives, figs, and pomegranates. Pomegranate was found in the foundation deposit of Tuthmose III in the Hathor shrine at Deir el-Bahari. 57 Pomegranate flowers and leaves were set in many garlands and collars used in religious and celebratory events, placed around the necks of the dead, worn at the funerary banquet, or draped around statuettes. 58 Some important representations of pomegranates there are at Tell el-Amarna: in the tomb of Meryre, high priest of the Aten, we can admire representation of the Aten temple garden where are shown flowering pomegranates put among the trees; in the tomb of Huya (TA 01), the royal family has depicted in front of a table full of pomegranates, while Queen Ty is shown holding a pomegranate in her hand. In the daily life of Ancient Egypt, were manufactured pomegranate-shaped artifacts, such as containers and jewelry, and amulets. In the Amarna letters, the inventory of gifts lists one pomegranate of silver, 44 containers of oil decorated with apples, dates and pomegranates, and 6 knives of gold with pomegranate at the top. 59 54 Immerwahr 1989:408; Jacomet 2002: 84; Torpey 2008: 1; Whitchurch and Griggs 2010: 223; Nigro and Spagnoli 2018:51. 55 According to some scholars, the pomegranates did not arrive in Egypt until the beginning of the New Kingdom, when it was probably brought back from western Asia during the military campaign (early 18th Dynasty). Initially, pomegranates have been available only as an imported product, and only later plants of pomegranates were planted in an Egyptian garden. 56 Additional representations of pomegranaates in private tombs are found in Userhat‘s tomb (TT51), Tjanefer’s tomb (TT158), Amenamhat’s tomb (TT82), Userhat’s tomb (TT150), Djeserkarenseneb’s tomb (TT38), el-Kab tomb of Paheri Paheri (EK 3). 57 Nathalie Beaux, ‘Botanical remains in Ancient Egyptian foundation deposits’, Meeting on archaeobotanical research in Egypt organized by the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA) and the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (IFAO), Cairo, 26 September 2018). 58 In the embalming cache known as KV63, a large number and variety of collars have been found and 17 species of associated plant remains have been identified; among these species of plants, ten were used in the production of floral collars as olive, willow, safflower, flowers of low cornflower, blue lotus, fruits of ‘ashwagandha’, date palm, papyrus, and leaves of pomegranate. 59 Moran 1992:27-34; Kaelin 2004: 108. 60 See: Haldane, Cheryl Ward, (Mar., 1990)," Shipwrecked Plant Remains", The Biblical Archaeologist, 53, No. 1, An Underwater View of the Ancient World, 59;Whitchurch, David M., and Griggs, C. Wilfred,2010, 'Artifacts, Icons, And Pomegranates: Brigham Young University Egypt Excavation Project' JARCE , 225-226; Wilkinson, Alix,1998, The Garden in Ancient Egypt ,London,39. 61 See: Terrace, Edward L.B., Jul. 1963, 272, pl.56, fig.14, n.27. 62 Whitchurch, David M., and Griggs, C. Wilfred, 2010, 226; Lilyquist, C., Hill, M., Allen, S., Roehrig C. H. , and Patch D. C., 2001, 14; Immerwahr, Sara, Oct. – Dec.1989 , "The Pomegranate Vase: Its Origins and Continuity," Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 58.4 , 402; Shaw ,I., and Nicholoson , P., 2002,Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, The American University in Cairo Press, 108. 63 Haldane, Cheryl Ward, (Mar.1990) 59. 64 Haldane, Cheryl Ward, (Mar. 1990)59. 65 Whitchurch, David M., and Griggs, C. Wilfred, 2010, 226;Wilkinson, “The Garden in Ancient Egypt”138. 66 Whitchurch, David M., and Griggs, C. Wilfred, 2010, 226. 67 Immerwahr, Sara,Oct. – Dec.1989, 400. 68 Lilyquist, C., Hill, M., Allen, S., Roehrig C. H. and Patch D. C., 2001, 14; Immerwahr, Sara, Oct. – Dec.1989 , 401. Seeds and skin fragments of pome- granatediscovered during an archeological excavation in Egypt indicates that pomegranates were primarily found by the aristocracy or priestly class during the 12th Dynasty 60 . Pomegranate occurs frequently enough in Egypt from at least the New Kingdom onward 61 . It is generally accepted that Thutmose I brought pomegranates back to Egypt after his military campaigns into central Asia 62 . Pomegranate trees are mentioned in his funerary texts(about 1530 B.C.)and appear in tomb paintings of nearly a hundred years later 63 . The inscriptions of the tomb of Sebkhotep show two men carrying pomegranates; one carries a basket, the other a string of fruits tied together 64 . Pomegranate plants are shown on the walls of ThutmoseIII's Festival Hall at Karnak 65 . Large dried pomegranate fruit was found in the tomb of Djehwty, the estate overseer of Queen Hatshepsut in the fifteenth century B.C. (Dynasty 18) 66 . Ancient Egyptians had been imitating organic forms of pomegranate and its flowers in many artifacts of all materials; cf. nineteen votive faience pomegranates have been discovered in the tomb of Amenhotep II 67 , a silver pomegranate-shaped vessel was included in the funerary offerings to Tutankhamun (1336-1327 ca. B.C.) 68 vase in the shape of a pomegranate, glass, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. No.