Many of us have spent a lot of time inside over the last few winter months, so this spring we are looking forward to getting outside and enjoying the warmer temperatures. Gardens are a wonderful place to enjoy trees, plants, and all kinds of flowers. The ancient Egyptian landscape likewise was lush and verdant along the Nile. In this blog, we will explore what ancient Egyptian gardens could have looked like. What plants did they cultivate?

Gardens and the Egyptian Landscape

Every year, the Nile River flooded, and this annual inundation not only brought water, but also essential nutrients to the soil. Even today, a large portion of Egypt’s population remain close to the river, supported by the favourable farming conditions. While the floodplain on either side of the Nile was a fertile soil for agriculture, gardens were located on higher ground further away from the river.

Getting water to where you need it

Imagine the work and toil needed to water the gardens. Elaborate devices to help with lifting water did not come around until the early New Kingdom (1,550-1,069 BC), so water carriers and other labourers would have had to carry pots filled with water (see an example above) from the river to their gardens. A major invention in the New Kingdom greatly facilitated this process: the water hoist or shaduf in Arabic. A long wooden pole is installed over a pivot or a beam (see below). A weight hangs on the shorter end of the pole behind the pivot and on the other side a skin or a bucket hangs off the pole. This system allowed the worker to lift easily water from a river or channel onto higher ground. On the other hand, those who were wealthier may have had wells dug near their house for easier access to water.

We can picture then how much easier the watering process must have become.

Where to find Egyptian gardens

Next, let us take a look at where gardens are found in the Egyptian world:

1. Temples were the houses of specific deities or places of memory of deceased kings. Gardens here not only provided the offerings and provisions necessary for the daily cult programme, but also embodied symbolism and myth. Different types of trees, for example, were associated with certain deities and their inclusion in the garden paid homage to them.

2. We know of funerary gardens outside of tombs especially on the Theban West Bank, where the garden would have acted as a place of rest for the deceased. With the heat each summer, seeking refuge under the covers of a tree was a welcome activity.
3. Gardens in royal palaces were often a place for the king to receive foreign dignitaries as well as for entertainment purposes.
4. Houses of wealthy individuals also contained gardens. Several tombs including Nebamun’s (see below) include scenes of gardens. Not only do they feature a pool of water, but also a plethora of trees and flora.
5. Gardens can also be found, of course, in and around the local community. While the evidence is more scanty here, these would be smaller in scale.
   

What trees and plants did Egyptians plant?

We are lucky that we can glean a lot of information from Egyptian tombs. Scenes on the tomb walls depict the rich and diverse variety of trees, plants, and flowers, and even lush gardens with ponds! Their gardens would have been enclosed by a wall and laid out in a symmetrical, organised fashion.
Egyptians also fashioned wooden models which they included as part of their burial. A model from the tomb of Meketre (Twelfth Dynasty – 1,985-1,773 BC) shows a row of sycamore fig trees around a pond:

If you look up close, you’ll notice the deep red coloured figs of the tree! In a lovely text known as The Songs of the Orchard, three different trees speak about lovers hiding beneath their canopy (3). In the excerpt below, it is the sycamore fig tree that speaks:

“(The sycamore fig tree) is beautiful, and its leaves are lovely. It is growing green and flourishing, it is loaded with ripe and unripened fruit. It is more red than red jasper. Its leaves are like turquoise, their hue like (faïence), its wood is like the complexion of feldspar.” (author’s translation)

– The sycamore fig tree in The Songs of the Orchard

The text brings alive the different colours of the tree with references to many materials Egyptians worked with. Just imagine the full bloom of the trees, not to mention how lively and green the landscape must have looked!

Nebamun’s Garden

A fancy-looking garden depicted in the tomb of Nebamun shows a pool in the centre with different types of trees and plants around it.

The pool teems with various fowls, while bountiful water lilies float on the top. Fig and sycamore fig trees, date and dôm-palms, as well as mandrakes and vines surround the pond. The mandrake is noticeable due to its yellow fruit and the dates are shown in various stages of ripeness.

On the top right, the tree goddess (usually identified with Hathor or Nut) gives figs to Nebamun. Her inclusion here is a good reminder of the symbolism found in such funerary scenes.

The number of trees known to the Egyptians was quite extant. Ineni, who also lived in the New Kingdom, not only depicted a lush garden in his tomb (TT 81), but also included a long list of the trees planted in his garden. The list includes sycamore trees, persea trees, date- and dôm-palms (its trunks are a characteristic “forked” shape), fig trees, moringa trees, vines, pomegranate trees, carob trees, willow trees, tamarisk trees, and several more.

The Bright Colours of Egyptian Flowers

Along with trees, Egyptians also cultivated a range of plants and flowers. Papyrus and the white and blue varieties of the water lily are the best known. The famous scene of Nebamun hunting for fowl from his tomb depicts thickets of papyri near the water. Many banquet scenes in tombs show participants holding various flowers and even scenes of the king before the gods may include various flowers as well.

We have already noted the mandrake, but Egyptians also cultivated the persea, cornflower, may seed, poppy, and many more.

Planting trees and plants

What is involved in planting trees and plants? Tombs again are helpful here and we also have archaeological remains of actual garden plots. At Amarna, for example, workers laid out plots in a symmetrical and grid-like pattern. The grid was composed of small ridges of mud and in the squares in between they would have grown their plants.

Recent excavations on the Theban West Bank revealed the remains of an actual funerary garden before the tomb of an official. Archaeologists there found a rectangular garden (measuring 3×2 m) raised off the ground. It features grid-like plots. The team found the remains of a tamarisk tree as well as dates and other fruits.

When you find yourself in your garden this summer, why not:

• Relax in the shade provided by trees.
• Feel the breeze across your face.
• Imagine how an ancient Egyptian would have also enjoyed their garden thousands of years ago.

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Notes

1. Petrie, W.M.F. 1909. Qurneh. London: Bernard Quaritch – plate XXIV.
2. Garis Davies, N. de. 1927. Two Ramesside Tombs at Thebes. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art – plate XXIX.
3. Gardens were often associated with lovers as they could find seclusion within. The text quoted belongs to the genre of Egyptian love poetry which appears in the mid to late New Kingdom.
   

All photos are courtesy of the author unless otherwise indicated.