ORIGINAL ARTICLE Sebesten fruits (Cordia myxa L.) in Gallia Narbonensis (Southern France): a trade item from the Eastern Mediterranean? Laurent Bouby • Anne Bouchette • Isabel Figueiral Received: 3 September 2010 / Accepted: 18 February 2011 / Published online: 1 March 2011 Ó Springer-Verlag 2011 Abstract Archaeobotanical studies carried out by rescue archaeology at Nı ˆmes and Marseille (Southern France) provided evidence of Cordia myxa during the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. The fruit stones were found both waterlogged in domestic contexts and charred in a cremation grave (plant offering). Data from these finds and a survey of historical documents and archaeobotanical literature are combined here to discuss the origins and uses of these fruits in the western world. Keywords Cordia myxa Á Roman period Á Trade Á Mediterranean Introduction The recent discovery of Cordia myxa stones in Roman contexts from Gallia Narbonensis (Marseille and Nı ˆmes) (Fig. 1) came as a surprise and raises a number of questions about the origin and use of these exotic fruits during the Roman period. As far as we know these finds, from the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., are the only archaeobotanical records of this species in France. Genus Cordia (Boraginaceae) includes hundreds of tree and shrub species growing across the tropical and sub- tropical areas of America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Only two of these species grow in the Mediterranean region, in northern Africa and in south-western Asia. These are C. sinensis Lam and C. myxa L. (Davis 1978; Greuter et al. 1984; Warfa 1990; Arbonnier 2002; Cappers 2006; Kislev 2008). Apparently C. sinensis is native in Egypt, in the Israel-Palestine area and in the Arabian Peninsula. The origin of C. myxa is less clear. Depending on the sources, it originates from tropical Asia, the Near- and Middle-East or Egypt. Typical C. myxa L. appears to be a cultivated plant, which became naturalized in the area stretching from southern Iran to northern and tropical Africa, including southern Anatolia, Chios, Rhodes, Cyprus, the Near-East, the Arabian Peninsula and the coastal areas of Egypt (Davis 1978; Kislev 2008). The sebesten (C. myxa)—also called sebesten plum—is a tree or shrub, ca. 7–12 m high, which grows on deep moist soils, such as river banks. The tree keeps its leaves for most of the year. These are broad, alternate, ovate- elliptic shaped. The inflorescence carries numerous white flowers. Fruits are round to ovoid shaped drupes, about 15–20 mm in diameter, arranged in clusters (Arbonnier 2002; Cappers 2006; Kislev 2008). Their white-yellow color turns blackish when dry. The pulp, very tough and mucilaginous, is edible and has a sweetish flavor. It can be consumed fresh, dry and pickled. According to the ethno- historical sources, fruits of C. myxa have been eaten until recently by human communities in spite of their slightly astringent taste when fresh (Oudhia 2007; Kislev 2008). In tropical Africa, the ripened fruits are eaten fresh while the Communicated by M. van der Veen. L. Bouby (&) CNRS, Centre de Bio-Arche ´ologie et d’Ecologie, UMR 5059, UM2/CNRS/EPHE, 163 Rue A. Broussonet, 34090 Montpellier, France e-mail: laurent.bouby@univ-montp2.fr A. Bouchette INRAP Me ´diterrane ´e, Arche ´ologie des Socie ´te ´s Me ´diterrane ´ennes, UMR 5140/CNRS/UM3/INRAP/DRAC, 561 Rue Etienne Lenoir, Km Delta, 30 900 Nı ˆmes, France I. Figueiral INRAP Me ´diterrane ´e, Centre de Bio-Arche ´ologie et d’Ecologie, UMR 5059, UM2/CNRS/EPHE, 163 Rue A. Broussonet, 34090 Montpellier, France 123 Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:397–404 DOI 10.1007/s00334-011-0285-3