HISTORICAL DATA ON DISTILLATION

The distillation of essential oils is generally attributed to Avicenna (Ibn Sina), a 10th-century Persian known as the “Prince of Physicians”. However, there is evidence to suggest that distillation was known in the Indus Valley, in Iraq, in India, in China and in Egypt… so it appears to be a much older process than we realise. It is true that Avicenna devoted much of his life to researching the distillation process using various plants and attributed great importance to that fraction which appears to have been forgotten for centuries: the fat-soluble portion we know as essential oils.

So… If Avicenna did not discover distillation, what evidence do we have of its existence in antiquity?

It would appear that distillation was already known in Pakistan, in what we know as the Indus Valley. In this very same place, figures have been found which have been attributed with the “origin” of yoga . Paolo Rovesti discovered In 1975, at the Taxila Museum, an ancient terracotta still dating from 3000 BC (according to Jennifer Peace Rhind). Obviously, the discovery of the still alone does not prove that essential oils were already in use, as it could have been used for the distillation of alcohol. However, an even older settlement in what we now know as Iraq, called “Tepe Gawra” (“Great Mound”), yielded a large number of pottery vessels and ceramic objects dating from around 3500 BC. These ancient objects appear to have been used for the preparation of plant-based substances for ritualistic and cosmetic purposes, amongst others. In fact, some researchers believe that essential oils were already being separated from hydrolats due to the presence of small holes within the inner ring. The “Cyprus Perfumery Theme Park” has successfully recreated the artefacts from Tepe Gawra, as you can see in the image. On the island of Cyprus, in Pyrgus, what is known as the “first perfumery” has been discovered, dating from 1800 BC. In addition to traces of wine, remains of perfumes and extracts of pine, bergamot, coriander, aniseed and other herbs have also been found, along with small clay pots and jars associated with perfumery.

With the advent of the Christian era, eminent alchemists began to investigate the distillation of aromatic plants. In the 3rd century, Zosimus of Panopolis, a Greek-born alchemist and Gnostic, produced detailed drawings of distillation apparatus. And in the 8th century, Jabir ibn Hayyan (known as Geber, the father of chemistry) researched and popularised the use of floral waters (hydrolates) produced through distillation.

By the 10th century, Avicenna had introduced greater complexity to the distillation process and “rediscovered” the fat-soluble fraction, that is to say, essential oils, which for some reason were either never fully understood or had been “forgotten” for a time throughout history. What do you think?