Pottery bowl containing dom palm
fruits
From Thebes, Egypt
New
Kingdom, around 1500 BC
A favourite food to take to the
Afterlife
The fruit of the dom palm was among the
commonest foods enjoyed by the ancient Egyptians. These examples,
in a pottery bowl, were probably placed in a tomb as offerings for
the dead. In addition to its role of providing sustenance, the
fruit of the dom also seems to have had a further significance as
providing water and new life, an additional reason for placing it
in the tomb.
H. Wilson, Egyptian food and drink (Aylesbury, Shire Publications, 1988)