One possible explanation for the presence of these species is that the Romans became more engaged in trade with these native people, who had access to local markets and probably also maintained trade relations with northern Sudan. It is also possible that a native desert population lived in Shenshef and, during thelatest occupation period, also in Berenike, and that these people introduced their own food preferences. A similar conclusion can be drawn from a shift in the relative importance of animal groups over time and the presence of locally produced pottery in Berenike in the latest phase of its occupation . Trade with India could be evidenced for both early and late habitation periods. Only three commodities represent both periods: black pepper , rice , and coconut . Black pepper clearly predominates, but rice and coconut also give the impression that they were among the regular supplies. The import of the mung bean and the emblic is almost limited to the early habitation period, whereas the beads from Job’s tears were unearthed from both early and late contexts. This might indicate that, though Indian trade was maintained during both periods, it was more diverse during the first habitation period.Located at the desert edge along the southeastern fringe of the Roman Empire, Berenike was involved in long distance transport in connection with both international trade and the supply of food. A key question with respect to the interpretation of the archaeobotanical record of Berenike is where all these plant products came from. Determining the area from which a certain plant product was imported may, however, be problematic. Besides the original area of origin, grow racks with lights which in most cases can be recognized by the high diversity of wild relatives, a species may also have been introduced in new areas.

Although the spread of cultivated plants outside their original distribution area had already started in the early Holocene, it was during the GreekRoman period especially that the spread of cultivated plants received a new impetus as is, for example, illustrated by the spread of horticulture. In Egypt, the import of exotic plant species, such as the pomegranate , the Egyptian plum , the carob , the olive , celery , black cumin , and dill , is also evidenced from the pharaonic period . The success of the introduction of exotic species is determined by their specific environmental requirements. Environmental conditions that may play a role include both biotic factors, such as the presence of a pollinating organism; and abiotic factors, such as the humidity, the salinity, and the nutrient availability and acidity. Taking plants into cultivation under conditions that differ much from their optimum may be possible, but places great demands on the knowledge and skills of the breeder. In Table 6.3, plant species from Berenike and Shenshef are arranged according to their possible area of origin. This labeling includes the possibility of cultivation of some plants in local kitchen gardens at Berenike and Shenshef, but does not express the possibilities of indirect trade. Almost one-third of the plant species is classified in two columns, which consists mainly of desert plants and potential garden plants. Import that is unambiguously linked to the Mediterranean area is mainly concerned with edible fruits and is evidenced by the stone pine , the almond , the walnut , the apricot , and the juniper . The stone pine and the almond in particular are well represented in both the early and late habitation period of Berenike. The Nile Valley guaranteed the delivery of a variety of cereals and pulses, including staple food crops such as hulled six-row barley , hard wheat , lentil , and white lupin .

Supplementary plant products from this productive area include edible fruits, such as the fig , and oil containing fruits or seeds, such as safflower , fl ax , and sesame . Sesame may also have been used as a condiment. It speaks for itself that the inhabitants of Berenike and Shenshef also have exploited desert plants with an economic value. As far as such edible fruit-producing plants are concerned, they are partly of an inferior quality, which might explain the import of more-valued fruits from the Nile Valley and the Mediterranean area. Nevertheless, the considerable number of fruit remains from species indigenous to the Eastern Desert indicates local cultivation, as is suggested for the nabq , or import from more remote areas, which is probably true for the sugar date and the doam palm . Also the mangrove and the bentree would have been harvested from more-remote populations. The date palm is an exceptional case as it produces highly prized fruits. Dates were not only consumed in Egypt but were also exported to the provinces of the Roman Empire where the palm could not thrive. It is plausible that the export of dates was organized on a large scale as they can be easily preserved without losing much of their taste. The residents of Berenike and Shenshef might have exploited palm groves in the Eastern Desert, but most of the dates would have been obtained from the extensive plantations in the Nile Valley. Several plant products originate from the southern part of the East African coast, stretching from the Gebel Elba area, some 200 km south of Berenike, to present day Tanzania. Although this area is also characterized by arid and semi-arid environments, its floral aspect differs from that of the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The Sudanese flora has its northern limit in the Gebel Elba area, and it is plausible that part of the plant products that originate from the East African coast were obtained from this area.

The rich vegetation of the Gebel Elba most certainly was exploited for products from the balsam tree , Cordia nevillii/ sinensis, Cocculus pendulus, and Grewia. The Gebel Elba mountains are located some 20 km inland, and from here the Red Sea is reachable but the route is difficult, as is indicated by the name of its main wadi, Aizhab, which means “difficult to travel.” The same is true for the small harbor Aizhab, which is only accessible for small vessels. Therefore, the easiest way of transporting plant products from the Gebel Elba area would have been by beasts of burden and not by ships. Fruits of the baobab and possibly also those from the Abrus and the tamarind were probably imported from even more southerly harbors along the East African coast, as can be judged from their present distribution. Other plant species that are indicative of import from the south are Achyranthes aspera, a weed species; fl ax , which includes twin-seeds; and the Abyssinian pea . So far, six species have been found that originate from India: black pepper , mung bean , rice , coconut , emblic , and Job’s tears . All these Indian species were found at Berenike, whereas only peppercorns were also unearthed in Shenshef. In addition to these plant species, which were all evidenced by their fruits and/or seeds, two other Indian species were evidenced by wood analyses . Surprisingly, teak predominates among the desiccated wood remains, and the highly valued wood is even evidenced by charcoal. According to the Periplus, teak wood was only transported from Barygaza to Omana and Apologos . In Berenike, planks of teak wood are still present as supports in the stony walls of some buildings, in which both the illogical traces of working and pitch layers strongly indicate the recycling of ships’ timbers. On the other hand, indirect trade of teak wood may not be excluded, as the Periplus clearly mentions teak among the trade items. Formerly, teak was one of the favorite timbers for dhow building in the many ports along the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea, including Bahrein, rolling benches for growing and was imported principally from the Malabar coast in southwest India, the Maldives, Mombasa, Lamu, and the Zufar district . This is supported by Theophrastus , who states that at the island of Tylos, located in the Persian Gulf and identified as present-day Bahrain , a kind of wood was used for shipbuilding that was virtually resistant to decay in seawater, as it lasts for more than 200 years if kept under water. A second species identified among the wood samples by Vermeeren is bamboo . Bamboos are native to the Indian subcontinent, China, Indochina, and Malaysia and are especially widespread in the monsoon region. The woody stems are suitable for all kinds of solid construction. A badly preserved bamboo pole was found in trench BE98-23. Its culm diameter points to a limited number of species, including B. bambos Voss., a species that grows in India, China, and Indochina. It is, therefore, very likely that the specimen found at Berenike originated from India. Whether we are dealing with a rarely imported attribute or with a relict of a regular supply is difficult to determine.

A well-considered characterization of the complete archaeobotanical record with respect to subsistence and trade items in Berenike is rather problematic. This is partly caused by the fact that all botanical remains, with the exclusion of wood, have been unearthed from refuse layers and secondary fillings in buildings. Although part of the plant remains were found in a storage building, the only real food supply which has been found so far is an Indian dolium filled with 7.5 kg of black pepper. This means that all recovered plant remains from Berenike, imported as trade items, were appropriated for personal use. Discarded or lost specimens became part of the sub-fossil assemblage, the target population of the current archaeobotanical research. Unraveling subsistence and trade is also complicated by the difficulties met in determining both the origin and the final destination of some of the plant products. In the nature of things it may be assumed that import items from more-remote areas were meant for long-distance transport, either to Rome or to foreign harbors. The presence of foreign trade delegations in certain harbors might be partly responsible for local consumption of items imported through long-distance trade. This might have been the case with rice transport to Berenike, as it was partly meant for an Indian community that possibly dwelled at Berenike, or with wheat loaded on vessels with Kanê as their destination. Most of the food for the dwellers of Berenike would have been obtained from the Nile Valley. This relatively short route guaranteed a regular supply, which was of vital importance in such a desolated environment deprived of the necessities of life. An archive of almost 90 ostraka found at Koptos, dating from 18 BC to AD 69, enumerates the food and drink that was delivered to Myos Hormos and Berenike. Wheat is mentioned in 38 instances and barley only in 5. Most quantities were of a modest size and were delivered year-round, indicating that it was meant for the inhabitants of both harbors . Import commodities, on the other hand, would primarily have been meant for further transport into the interior of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, the exotic plant products that became available in Berenike when vessels moored in its harbor would have made a welcome change to the ordinary food. Especially those products that were delivered in large quantities, such as black pepper, were allowed to be locally consumed to a certain extent. It may be assumed that most export items were delivered intentionally to Berenike. Even staple foods, such as cereals or dates, could have been partly delivered for shipment. There might also have been a market for cereals in harbors along the Red Sea coast and the Horn of Africa as wheat and barley cultivation in these areas is only marginal due to the arid climate. Harvest failures were likely to occur and would, therefore, offer a market, though with an opportunistic character. This is explicitly mentioned in the Periplus for Muza. The merchandise for which Muza offered a market included limited quantities of wheat because the region produced moderate quantities itself. The Periplus even states that considerable quantities of grain were among the principal imports of Rhapta not for trade but as an expenditure for the goodwill of the Barbaroi. Furthermore, staple food could also have been used as a ballast commodity. Less-valued food items, such as sugar dates , nabq , or doam palm fruits , would probably not have been among the export commodities.