Rediscovering Phoenician Perfumes: How Ancient Scents Shaped Mediterranean Culture!
Archaeologists often uncover pottery, coins, and bones, but the smells of the past are far harder to capture. Now, an innovative interdisciplinary study has traced fragrances that were central to Phoenician life. By analysing 51 ceramic oil vessels from Motya, a small island off Sicily, researchers have revealed how scented oils played a role in identity, memory, and cultural exchange across the Iron Age Mediterranean. The findings were published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory.
The vessels in question are plain, narrow bottles, standing 15 to 18 centimetres high, used between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. Found in homes, cemeteries, and sacred spaces, they clearly had multiple uses across a wide geographic area. Analysis of the ceramics suggests that production began in southern Phoenicia, in a region stretching from modern-day Beirut to the Carmel coast.
Organic residue tests revealed even more. Eight of the bottles contained traces of plant oils mixed with pine and mastic resin, ingredients long associated with perfumes and preservation. This strongly suggests that these vessels once held aromatic unguents. These oils were more than trade commodities; they were a sensory connection to Phoenician homelands. For settlers establishing communities across the Mediterranean, scented oils offered a tangible link to their origins, helping to maintain shared practices while also facilitating exchanges with local populations.
Photo Credit: Adriano Orsingher et al., J Archaeol Method Theory (2025)
Phoenicians were not only master seafarers and traders but also cultural innovators. Aromatic substances were central to everyday life and ritual practice, and their trade helped build bridges between migrant and indigenous groups. At Motya, the repeated discovery of oil bottles over more than two centuries suggests a stable supply of a well-recognised product, valued for both practical and symbolic reasons.
Interestingly, these bottles weren’t confined to Phoenician households. They also appear in elite non-Phoenician contexts, indicating that scented oils were part of strategies for forging alliances and projecting influence. In this way, perfumes played a subtle but vital role in cross-cultural interactions, spreading Phoenician customs throughout the western Mediterranean.
The study also sheds light on why these bottles eventually disappeared. While their decline has often been linked to Carthage’s rise, researchers now point to instability in the Levant during the Neo-Babylonian period, which may have disrupted both production and trade. Such political and economic changes likely contributed to the reduction in circulation of these vessels by the end of the 6th century BCE.
Beyond the specifics, this research highlights the importance of exploring the sensory dimensions of the past. Migration and cultural exchange were not just about people and goods moving; they also involved intangible elements like smell, memory, and experience. Fragrances, though fleeting, were powerful carriers of identity, helping communities preserve their heritage in new lands.
By applying advanced scientific methods, archaeologists have brought a previously hidden aspect of ancient life to light. The oil vessels from Motya offer a vivid reminder that the past was not only seen and heard, it was also smelled. Perfumes acted as invisible threads, connecting distant places and people across the Mediterranean.