Carob in Ancient Egypt and Greece
Carob left its mark in different ways in the two great cultures of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, the Egyptian and Greek world. The Egyptians used a sign in the form of a carob pod when writing the concept of "sweet"; The Greeks, on the other hand, compared the pod of the tree to the horn and gave it the name that forms the basis of today's scientific name.
In this article, we discuss what we know and don't know about carob in ancient Egypt and Greece, based on hieroglyphic sign lists, votive lists in funerary temples, Greek word history, and Roman writers' transmissions of the Greek world.
Reading Ancient Sources: What Do We Know, What Do We Predict?
Many claims circulate on the internet about the place of carob in the ancient world. Some of them are based on archaeological and linguistic evidence, while others are narratives of uncertain origin. Therefore, in this article, we will try to discuss the information by dividing it into three groups:
- Evidence of writing and language: hieroglyphic signs, Greek and Latin words
- Archaeological and documentary evidence: votive lists, finds in burial temples
- Genetic and botanical interpretations: modern studies of how the tree spreads in the Mediterranean
This distinction makes it easy to see on what evidence definitive sentences like "ancient Egyptians used carob" are based.
Carob in Egyptian Writing: The Sign Meaning "Sweet"
In ancient Egypt, the strongest trace of carob is found in the writing system. The Thot Sign List, which catalogs Egyptian hieroglyphs, defines the sign known as M29 in the Gardiner classification as "the pod of a carob (Ceratonia siliqua) tree". The basic pronunciation of the sign is "nḏm" (usually pronounced "nedjem"), and in most of its recorded usages it means "to be sweet". The same sign is used to mean "carob tree".
According to the Thot Sign List, the use of this mark has been documented over a wide period of time, from the Old Kingdom Djedkare sarcophagus to the Late Period. The list cites Alan Gardiner's classical Egyptian grammar book and Nathalie Baum's study of the trees and shrubs of ancient Egypt as reference sources.
Another interesting aspect of the sign is that it is also used in some words to mean a braided tuft of hair. Thot Sign List notes that in these uses, the pod should be perceived as a braided lock of hair. This analogy is quite understandable considering that the long, curled and brown locust bean pod resembles a braid of hair.
The Word "Nedjem" and the Concept of Sweetness
The carob hieroglyphic article on Wikipedia states that the meaning of the sign "sweet" is not limited to taste, but also extends to other senses such as smell and touch. In the article, it is stated that there are fifteen entries containing "nedjem" and its derivatives in E. A. Wallis Budge's hieroglyphic dictionary, and in six of them the word is duplicated to "nedjemnedjem".
This detail tells us that for the Egyptians, carob was not just a food, but a visual symbol of the idea of "sweetness". Considering that sugar cane and refined sugar were unknown in ancient times, it is not surprising that carob was known as a sweet food along with natural sweeteners such as honey and dates. Today's analyzes also show that the fleshy part of carob contains a very high amount of sugar; In a study prepared by the University of Southern California, this rate is given in the range of 48-56 percent.
Votive Lists and Grave Finds
There are documents showing that carob was included not only in writing but also in ritual life. A visual record from the University of Southern California's Plants & People project identifies the western wall of the building, which dates back to 2565–2420 BC and is referred to as the "Temple of Mery-nesut" in the source, based on a work in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Carob is also included in the list of funerary offerings on this wall.
In the same project, it is reported that carob pods and seeds were found in Egyptian tombs. It is also stated in the source that it was "reported" that carob seed gum was used in mummification. However, this last information is given in the source as a transfer, not in a definite language; for this reason, it is more accurate to evaluate the use of mummification not as a definite fact, but as a claim open to research.
The fact that it is included in the votive lists suggests that carob is seen among the valuable foods to be taken to the other world. This is a very different picture from the image of the "poor food" attributed to carob in later ages.
The Source of Carob in Ancient Egypt
The question of where the Egyptians obtained carob is linked to the debate about the origin of the tree. Ramón-Laca and Mabberley's study, published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, suggests that carob was found in the ancient Middle East and that its possible origin is southern Arabia and around the Horn of Africa. A review in the Turkish Journal of Botany, based on the work of Hillcoat et al., also lists Egypt among the regions where wild carob has been recorded.
These findings suggest that carob is not a foreign import product for Egypt, but a familiar plant of the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea region. However, the sources we have do not provide a definitive conclusion as to whether it was widely grown in Egypt or whether it came through trade.
Carob in the Greek World: A Name from the Horn
The Greeks compared the carob bean bean to the horn. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the Greek word "keration" is a diminutive of the word "keras" meaning "horn" and refers to both the carob seed and a small unit of weight. A word history article in the Saturday Evening Post also explains that the pods hanging from trees in the Mediterranean and the Middle East are called keration, meaning "small horn", because they resemble small horns.
The Turkish name "carob" is based on the same analogy. Thus, the Greek name and the Turkish name meet in a common image describing the appearance of the pod. A source introducing the nature of Crete also emphasizes that the name of the tree comes from the Greek word horn.
Ramón-Laca and Mabberley's study makes a remarkable linguistic observation: most of the carob names in European languages are of Arabic origin; however, Greece and southern Italy are exceptions. This suggests that carob was recognized in the Greek world long before Arab influence and was named after itself.
Keration: Carob in the Greek Measurement System
In the Greek world, the carob seed was the name for a unit of weight. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the Greek keration unit corresponds to the Roman unit siliqua, and that siliqua is the twenty-fourth of the solidus, the gold coin of Constantine.
This usage is also the origin of today's word carat. However, the belief that the seeds "all weigh the same" has not been confirmed by scientific measurements: A study published in Biology Letters in 2006 showed that the weight variability of carob seeds is not significantly lower than that of other plant species. For details on the subject, you can check out our article titled "Carat Measurement and Carob Seeds: Myth or Reality?".
"Greek Pods" Through the Eyes of Roman Writers
We can understand how well-known carob was in the Greek world from the transmissions of Roman writers. According to the compilation in the Turkish Journal of Botany, the Roman agricultural writer Columella referred to the tree as "siliqua Graeca", that is, "Greek pod". Pliny the Elder stated that the Ionians, that is, the Greeks living on the western coasts of Anatolia, called this tree "ceronia".
These two pieces of information are important. The Romans identified carob with the Greek world and called it by a name attributed to the Greeks. The reference to Ionia also indicates that carob was a tree known in ancient times on the eastern coast of the Aegean, in the territory of today's Turkey. Today's scientific name is Ceratonia siliqua, which brings together Greek and Latin roots.
Crete and the Aegean Islands
The Aegean islands are one of the places where the existence of carob from ancient times to the present can be best observed. According to a source introducing the nature of Crete, it is thought that there is the largest natural carob grove in Europe on the island. The same source states that Cretans traditionally consumed carob beans as a sweet snack and that carob trees fed the poor people in difficult times.
In the study of the University of Southern California, Crete is mentioned among the Mediterranean regions where the species was recorded. Although this information is not directly related to antiquity, they are complementary clues that show that carob culture has a long and uninterrupted history in the Greek world.
What Do Genetic Studies Say About Ancient Dispersal?
The most up-to-date information on the role of ancient Greece in the spread of carob in the Mediterranean comes from genetic studies. The study published by Baumel et al. in Molecular Ecology in 2022 showed that carob was domesticated many times, largely selected from local wild trees. According to the authors, there was also a transport of domesticated varieties over long distances, especially westward, and these movements were associated with Roman, Greek and Arab migrations.
That is, the ancient Greeks were not the people who "brought" carob to the Mediterranean; the tree was already found naturally in the region. However, Greek sailors and colonists may have contributed to the spread of carob culture forms by transporting their chosen varieties to new settlements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the ancient Egyptians know about carob?
Yes. The hieroglyph M29, which depicts a locust bean pod, was used to mean "sweet", and the carob was also included in the votive list in a tomb structure.
Was carob used in mummification?
Although there is a transfer in this direction in some sources, it cannot be presented as definitive information. It is necessary to be careful in this regard.
What is the Greek name for carob?
In ancient Greek, the word "keration" (small horn) was used for the seed. Pliny states that the Ionians called the tree "ceronia".
Did the ancient Greeks bring carob to the Mediterranean?
Genetic studies show that the tree is naturally present in the region and is mostly domesticated locally. The Greeks may have contributed to the transport of some varieties.
On the Trail of an Ancient Flavor with Carob Türkiye
Carob, which the Egyptians chose to describe the concept of "dessert", continues to take place in kitchens with its natural sweetness today. As Carob Türkiye, we supply carob fruit, crumbs, flour/powder, seeds and extracts.
General history of carob What is Carob? From our article to our products Carob Fruit You can access it on our page. For your wholesale and export requests Contact Now You can use our page.
Domestic resources
Mahdad, Y. M., Gaouar, S. B. S., "Origin, distribution and domestication of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.)", Turkish Journal of Botany (TÜBİTAK), 47(2), 89–96, 2023. doi.
org/ 10. 55730/ 1300- 008X. 2748 Foreign sources
Thot Sign List, "M29 – A pod of a carob (Ceratonia siliqua) tree" (TSL_1_3975). thotsignlist.
org/ mysign?id=3975 Wikipedia, "Carob (hieroglyph)". en.
wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Carob_(hieroglyph) Fuson, C., "Carob hieroglyph", Plants & People: The Intersection of Botany and Human Experience, University of Southern California (Scalar). scalar.
USC. edu/ works/ plants- and- people/ carob- hieroglyph Fuson, C., Yee, S., "Carob: From Pod to Pantry", Plants & People: The Intersection of Botany and Human Experience, University of Southern California (Scalar), 2022. scalar.
USC. edu/ works/ plants- and- people/ carob- from- pod- to- … Ramón-Laca, L., Mabberley, D. J., "The ecological status of the carob-tree (Ceratonia siliqua, Leguminosae) in the Mediterranean", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(4), 431–436, 2004. doi.
org/ 10. 1111/ j. 1095- 8339. 2003. 00254. x Baumel, A., Nieto Feliner, G., Médail, F., et al., "Genome-wide footprints in the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) unveil a new domestication pattern of a fruit tree in the Mediterranean", Molecular Ecology, 31(15), 4095–4111, 2022. doi.
org/ 10. 1111/ mec. 16563 Online Etymology Dictionary, "carat". etymonline.
com/ it/ word/ carat Hollandbeck, A., "In a Word: A 24-Karat Word History", The Saturday Evening Post, December 15, 2022. saturdayeveningpost.
com/ 2022/ 12/ in- a- word- a- 24- carat- word... Turnbull, L. A., Santamaria, L., Martorell, T., Rallo, J., Hector, A., "Seed size variability: from carob to carats", Biology Letters, 2(3), 397–400, 2006. doi.
org/ 10. 1098/ rsbl. 2006. 0476 OpenIT, "Carob tree", Cretan Beaches. cretanbeaches.
Scientific Resourcescom/ en/ flora/ carob- tree
