Here’s a fun fact sheet about ancient Egyptian foods, cosmetics and herbs:

 EGYPTIAN FOODS:

Barley (used for breads and fermented for beer which was a very popular beverage) dates, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, courgette, watermelon, chick peas, ful beans, lentils, papyrus shoots, raisins, fig, pomegranates, plum, mandrake fruit, lotus, salt, olive oil, honey and vinegar.  Popular herbs were parsley, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, caraway, rosemary, sage, mint, cinnamon and carob.

COSMETICS:

Talcum for the face and body composed of powdered orris root, powdered white sandalwood, lemongrass, sweet almond oil and a few drops of lime oil.

Oil for hair and scalp - lavender, thyme, rosemary and marjoram

Setting lotion - beeswax, frankincense, juniper, thyme and rosemary oil.

Frankincense and honey - powdered and mixed for facial masque and made into pastilles for breath.

 PERFUMES:

Cyprinum - (Cleopatra's favorite) lotus and henna oils

Medesium - (perfume of royalty) storax, cinnamon and myrrh oils

Metopion - (sexual oil) bitter almond, red wine, honey, cardamom, calamus, myrrh, galbanum and pine oils.

Oil of Lilies - white lily, sweet almond oil, calamus, myrrh, cardamom, crocus and cinnamon

 HERBS OF MUMMIFICATION

A mixture of palm wine, cedarwood oil, aloe vera, honey, frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, cloves, chamomile and alum

7 Holy Oils - almond, rose, lotus, frankincense, myrrh, storax, cinnamon.

 MEDICINAL HERBS (with Egyptian name in parentheses)

Acacia - sendent   

Aloe Vera - sibaru

Birthwort - soboeth

Calamus - kini

Cannabis - semutu

Carob - nadon

Cinnamon - girfa

Coriander - okhion

Cumin - tepenn

Fenugreek - itasin

Fir - sefet

Garlic - natanu

Henbane - saphtho

Juniper - natanu

Leek - ikati

Lotus - seshen, nenufar

Mint - makitho

Onion - hadiwa

Wormwood – somi

Go to complete COMPLETE HERB LISTING
 

Karen Charboneau-Harrison, Copyright 1980-2002, ©

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