Article · 2013

Cinnamaldehyde in early Iron Age Phoenician flasks raises the possibility of Levantine trade with South East Asia

D. Namdar, A. Gilboa, R. Neumann, I. Finkelstein and S. Weiner

Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 13(2) 1-19

An article on residues from 27 early Iron Age Phoenician flasks, ten of which held cinnamaldehyde, with a discussion of its likely source and of long-distance spice trade.

Namdar and colleagues analyse organic residues from small Phoenician flasks of the early Iron Age, broadly the late 12th to mid-9th centuries BCE, to see what the flasks held and whether the contents point to early long-distance trade. The sample is 27 flasks from Dor, Kinneret, Yoqne'am, Tell Qasile and Nahal Patish. The authors describe each vessel's context, preservation and sampling, identify residues by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and use other early Iron Age vessels as controls, including controls from the same depositional units.

Namdar and colleagues argue that modern contamination is an unlikely source of the cinnamaldehyde, on the evidence of freshly excavated flasks and of the controls (pp. 9–13). Experiments on modern ceramic substrates extracted cinnamaldehyde but not cinnamic acid, and the authors suggest this may explain why the acid is absent from the archaeological extracts. They propose cinnamon bark as the most probable source and discuss trade from South or South East Asia to the Levant.

What it records

The small flasks are typically 18–20 cm high, with apertures of 1 cm or less in diameter, and hold about 50 ml.p. 2
Export of the flasks falls in Ir1a to Ir2a in Phoenician terms and Late Cypriot IIIB to Cypro-Geometric III in Cypriot terms.p. 2
Ten of the 27 analysed flasks contained cinnamaldehyde, and none of the 17 other vessels analysed did.p. 7
Two recently excavated flasks, laboratory nos. 2278 and 2281, contained cinnamaldehyde in high concentrations.p. 10
Namdar and colleagues argue that the cinnamaldehyde in these two untouched flasks probably derives from their original contents.p. 10

Where to read

Sampled flasks, contexts and handlingpp. 3–6
Contamination tests and residue preservationpp. 9–13
Possible cinnamon sources and trade implicationspp. 13–15

1. Introduction2
2. Materials and Methods4
2.1. Vessels Analysed4
2.2. Sampling5
2.3. Lipid Extraction6
2.4. Identification of Lipids with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)6
2.5. Quantification of Lipids Using Gas Chromatography (GC)6
2.6. Adsorption Experiments6
3. Results6
3.1. The Possibility that Cinnamaldehyde is a Modern Contaminant9
3.2. The Preservation of Cinnamaldehyde and the Absence of its Breakdown Products12
4. Discussion13
4.1. Possible Sources of Cinnamaldehyde13
4.2. Preliminary Historical Observations and Implications14
5. Conclusions15
Acknowledgements15
References15

Objects published here

Small flask containing cinnamaldehyde, Dor, 2278 (p. 10)
Small flask containing cinnamaldehyde, Dor, 2281 (p. 10)

People, places and institutions

Places

Phoeniciaproduction region for the flasks
Dorsource of eleven sampled flasks
Tell Qasilesource of ten sampled flasks
Kinneretsource of four sampled flasks
Tell Abu Hawamsource of control vessels

Also named: Land of Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel Antiquities Authority, Yoqne'am, Nahal Patish.

Extent pp. 1–19, 3 figs, 1 map

Defines small flasks

Cypro-Geometric Pottery Trade Chronology and Dating Technology

Cited on Ancient Cyprus

1 page

FlasksCompendium