Overview
- Researchers reexamined two terracotta censers excavated decades ago from Pompeii and nearby Boscoreale using targeted sampling to avoid surface contamination.
- The team used microscopic mineral analysis, phytolith study, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to identify plant and molecular residues.
- Both vessels contained burned local woody plants likely including oak, laurel and stone-fruit trees along with grasses, not dried animal dung as fuel.
- One censer preserved molecular traces of a Burseraceae-type resin related to frankincense or elemi, which the authors present as the first direct archaeological evidence of imported incense in Roman domestic worship.
- The study highlights how advanced chemical methods can reconstruct ancient smellscapes and suggests long-distance trade routes carried aromatic resins to private homes, while possible grape or wine signals remain tentative because of contamination risks.