Frankincense and Incense Burners in Ancient Rome

Etymology of the English Word "Frankincense"

The English word “frankincense” was borrowed from Old French “franc encense” (meaning “noble incense” or “high quality incense”) in the 14^th century ❶.

Frankincense in the Middle East & North Africa

According to Pliny the Elder, the cultivation of this precious kind of resin was originally limited to the Arabian Peninsula. Locally, one tenth of the harvest was offered to the God Sabis before being exported to other areas where it was also valued as a religious offering ❷. These areas included the Levant (hence its mention in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles), North Africa and Southern Europe.

Frankincense in Greece

Its religious use in ancient Greece is well attested. The vegetarian mathematician Pythagoras for example is described as someone who only burned frankincense as an offering to the Gods, never the flesh of animals ❸.   

Alexander the Great apparently was also fond of it, burning it in lavish quantities on the altar ❷. 

Frankincense in Rome

In Rome, tus, as frankincense was called there, was such a prized commodity that fraudulent merchants would try to mix in resins of inferior quality to increase their profit ❷. Apart from being a popular offering to the Gods, it was also commonly used during cremation were it could simultaneously serve as an offering to the deceased and a means to cover up the stench of the burning corps. Famously, Nero is said to have spent a year’s harvest worth of frankincense on the funeral of his wife Poppaea Sabina ❹ (whom he had kicked to death himself ❺). 

The North of the Roman Empire

Remains of frankincense dating to Roman times have been found as high north as Weston Turville (Buckinghamshire, UK) ❻.

Roman incense burners: Tazza / Räucherkelch / turibulum (thuribulum)? 

Bowls with frilled decorations similar to the ones in fig. 1, 2, 3 and 4 have been found in various regions of the Roman Empire. Nowadays, the Italian word “tazza” is often used to refer to these bowls in English. In German, the term “Räucherkelch” is commonly used.

It is believed that they were used as censers based on burnt remnants that are often still visible on the inside. The fact that they are commonly found among grave goods confirms this ❼.

It is hard to determine whether the Latin word “turibulum (thuribulum)” (“censer”, mentioned by Cicero, among others)❽ would have been used to denote this kind of receptacle, but it seems possible.

Fig. 1: Roman incense burner, Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Trier (Germany)

Fig. 2: Roman incense burners, Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen (the Netherlands)

Fig. 3: Roman incense burners, Römisch-Germanisches Museum, Köln (Germany)

Fig. 4: Roman incense burners, Gallo-Romeins Museum, Tongeren (Belgium)

Sources:

❶　Harper, Douglas. "frankincense (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. <http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=frankincense>  (accessed August 27, 2016).

❷　Pliny the Elder. Natural History. 12.32

❸　Diogenes Laertius. Lives of Eminent Philosophers. book VIII.1.20.

❹　Pliny the Elder. Natural History. 12.41.

❺　Suetonius. The Lives of Caesars: Life of Nero 35.3.

❻ 　Henig, Martin (2003) Religion in Roman Britain. London: Routledge: p185.

❼　(Martens, Marleen & Guy De Boe (2004) Roman Mithraism: The Evidence of the Small Finds. Brussel: Museum Het Toreke: p192).

❽　Cicero. Against Verres. 2, 4.