BOSWELLIA, INCENSE TREE
Magos Foundation Collection
AKSUM & THE INCENSE ROUTE
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, an account of maritime exploration from the first century, shows us the world as it was perceived at the time of the Nativity. It attests to the presence of myrrh and incense, of which the Romans were great consumers, in the ports on both shores of the Red Sea. The famous “frankincense route” that linked the southern Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean was already primarily supplied by the Horn of Africa from the Kingdom of Aksum.