In Pompeii, the thick layers of ash preserved not only many everyday objects but also incense burners from household altars. But only a few of them contain remains of the offerings that were once burned there. Archaeologists have now analyzed two of these rare finds in more detail. They reveal which herbs the residents of Pompeii sacrificed in honor of the gods. A tree resin identified had traveled a surprisingly long distance.
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD spelled the end for the Roman city of Pompeii and many of its inhabitants: fiery avalanches of hot gases and ash raced down the volcano’s flanks, and later a persistent shower of ash covered and preserved the city and the remains of its inhabitants. Like a “time capsule,” Pompeii provides insights into life in the Roman Empire almost 2,000 years ago. For archaeologists, ancient Pompeii is a real treasure trove – and they are still making new, surprising discoveries as excavations continue.
Two offering bowls with remains of ashes
But objects that were discovered in Pompeii decades ago still provide new insights today. These also include incense burners – terracotta vessels in which fragrant herbs and other offerings were once burned. “Many such incense burners have been found in Pompeii and other Roman cities, some also in house altars,” explain Johannes Eber from the University of Zurich and his colleagues. But only very few have any remains of what was once burned in these bowls.
All the more exciting are two incense burners that were found in Pompeii decades ago, but whose remains have not yet been analyzed. The first vessel is rather simple and was discovered in the so-called Officina di Sabbattino – a building that was being converted from a villa into an inn at the time of the volcanic eruption. The second incense burner is decorated on the edge with two female busts, which frame a third, half-recumbent female sculpture. This bowl was discovered in a household; the central female figure probably represents a deceased member of this household, as Eber and his team explain.
Oak and laurel for Jupiter and Apollo
The researchers have now examined the residues in these two incense bowls for the first time using state-of-the-art chemical and isotopic analysis methods. “The combination of various current chemical and microscopic examination methods suddenly makes the everyday religious life of the people in Pompeii tangible,” explains senior author Philipp Stockhammer from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). The analyzes showed that the owners of the two incense bowls primarily burned woody plants and plant parts. The silicate crystals contained in the ash suggest the use of oak, laurel and branches of drupes, possibly mulberry.
“This fits with reports from Roman authors that some of these plants specifically represented certain gods: oak was the sacred tree of Jupiter, laurel was burned in honor of Apollo,” explain Eber and his colleagues. These plant offerings were probably tied into wreaths or bouquets and then presented to the gods in the incense burners. “Molecular analyzes also indicate a grape product in one of the incense burners,” says co-author Maxime Rageot from the University of Bonn. “This would be consistent with the use of wine in rituals shown in Roman images and described in texts.”
A well-traveled tree resin
What is particularly exciting, however, are residues of plant resins from a balsam tree family – the group of plants to which the frankincense tree Boswellia sacra also belongs. Further analysis revealed that the resin probably comes from the canary tree (Canarium indicum), which is widespread in southern Africa and East Asia. “The burned remains of the balsam tree resin in the second incense burner represent the first archaeological evidence of imported exotic tree resins in Pompeii,” the archaeologists write.
“This resin underlines the integration of Pompeii into a trade network that reached far beyond the borders of the Roman Empire,” explain Eber and his colleagues. At that time, such fragrant tree resins were probably traded over long distances along with other exotic goods from India and southern Africa. They then reached Italy via the Middle East and Alexandria. The archaeological finds from Pompeii provide valuable insights into long-distance trade in the Roman period and a valuable addition to the written records, as the archaeologists explain.
Source: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU); Specialist article: Antiquity, doi: 10.15184/aqy.2026.10320