Wittmaek — Our Present Knowledge of Ancient Plants. 7 



In Egypt, of course, there have also been found lentils but 

 very rarely broad-beans, Vicia Faba. 



The priests were not allowed to use them as they were con- 

 sidered impure. Others claimed that the black spot on the 

 flower of the Vicia Faba signified death, and that, therefore, 

 the priests should not eat them. The most extensive book 

 on ancient Egyptian plants is that of Franz Woenig, " Die 

 Pflanzen im alten Aegypten," Leipzig, 1886, and for ancient 

 plants in general, that of Dr. Buschan, " Vorgeschichtliche 

 Flora." 



In Asia Minor the finds have been specially wheat, barley, 

 peas and similar leguminous seed. In Troy Prof. Virchow, 

 when he was there with his friend Schliemann, — who lived a 

 long time in that country where he gained a fortune which 

 he nobly used in search of ancient cities, — : saw to his sur- 

 prise that outside of one of the walls small grains of carbon- 

 ized wheat lay in great quantities upon the ground, covering 

 the soil a hand's breadth high. This wheat was extremely 

 small and flat; it has been determined by Prof. Koernicke 

 as Triticum monococcum. The leguminous seeds which I 

 received from Troy were small broad-beans, Vicia Faba, 

 peas and a kindred species, Ervum Ervilia. 



In Greece there are not many places where ancient seeds 

 are found. Schliemann collected some at Herakleia, which I 

 had to determine. They proved to be grape-seeds. The day 

 before! departed for this country, I received seeds from 

 Orchomenos, — wheat and broad-beans. 



I come now to Pompeii. In April, 1903, I studied the 

 seeds found at Pompeii.* Most of them are in the National 

 Museum at Naples, and some in the small, but exceedingly 

 interesting, museum at Pompeii itself. 



As you know, Pompeii was destroyed by an eruption of 

 Mount Vesuvius in 79 A. D., together with Herculaneum, 

 Stabiae and some other small localities. It was covered with 

 ashes and disappeared. In the year 1748 a peasant plough- 

 ing his field found some statues and bronzes, which attracted 



* I published my researches in Engler's Bot. Jahrbiichern, xxxiii, 1903, 

 Beiblatt No. 73, p. 38. Additions in Gartenflora, 1904, p. 144. 



