Ancient Etruscan Ointment Discovered in Italy

After analyzing the material, the researchers established that the contents of the vessel consisted of a mixture of substances of lipids and resins.

"The natural resins were the pine resin, exudated from Pinaceae, and the mastic resin, from Anacardiaceae trees. The lipid was a vegetable oil, most likely moringa oil, which was used by the Egyptians and Greeks to produce ointments and perfumes," Ribechini said.

Also called myrobalan oil, moringa oil was mentioned by Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (23 A.D. - 79 A.D.) in his celebrated Natural History as one of the ingredients in the recipe of a "regal perfume" for the king of Parthes.

Since moringa trees were not found in Italy -- they are native to Sudan and Egypt -- and given the Egyptian origins of the alabaster unguentarium, the researchers concluded that the ointment was imported to Etruria.

"The imported Egyptian unguentarium and its exotic ointment attest to the high social rank to which Thana Plecunia and her family belonged. ... (The cosmetic case) probably commemorated an important moment in the life of this aristocratic woman, namely, her wedding," the researchers concluded.

According to Ilaria Bonaduce, a researcher at the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry of Pisa University who was not involved in the study, the research is particularly important as it demonstrates the role of chemical analysis in archaeology.

"The reconstruction of the origin and function of the object should also consider its chemical content. In this case, the analysis suggests that the ointment was imported into Etruria with the ointment already prepared in Egypt," Bonaduce told Discovery News.

Related Links:

Roman Ruins Survive the Ages Thanks to Volcanic Ash

Discovery News: History

Original 'Gladiator's' Tomb Unearthed in Rome