Ancient Egyptians Enjoyed Sweet Watermelons

News May 21, 2019

SHARE:

MUNICH, GERMANY—New Scientist reports that Egyptians living some 3,500 years ago may have eaten watermelons similar to those we enjoy today. Botanists Susanne Renner of the University of Munich and Guillaume Chomicki of the University of Oxford analyzed a tiny piece of one of the ancient watermelon leaves that were discovered in an Egyptian tomb and sent to botanist Joseph Hooker in London in the late nineteenth century. Fortunately, the partial genome sequence the researchers obtained from the artifact contained genes related to color and taste. This melon plant did not produce the bitter cucurbitacins found in Africa’s wild, round watermelons. It also lacked a functioning gene for transforming the red pigment lycopene into another substance, which means the plant produced fruit with red flesh. Ancient Egyptian images of watermelons depict them with an elongated shape, but the partial gene sequence did not reveal the contours of this particular plant’s fruit. Renner said the analysis also suggests the plant was related to sweet watermelons with white flesh that are grown to this day in Sudan. To read about another recent discovery in Egypt, go to “Family Secrets.”

  • Features March/April 2019

    Sicily’s Lost Theater

    Archaeologists resume the search for the home of drama in a majestic Greek sanctuary

    Read Article
    (Giuseppe Cavaleri)
  • Letter From Texas March/April 2019

    On the Range

    Excavations at a ranch in the southern High Plains show how generations of people adapted to an iconic Western landscape

    Read Article
    (Eric A. Powell)
  • Artifacts March/April 2019

    Medieval Seal Stamp

    Read Article
    (Rikke Caroline Olsen/The National Museum of Denmark)
  • Digs & Discoveries March/April 2019

    Fairfield’s Rebirth in 3-D

    Read Article
    (Virginia Department of Historic Resources)