REVIEW

Flax seed production: evidence from the early Iron Age siteof Tel Beth-Shean, Israel and from written sources

Mordechai E. Kislev • Orit Simchoni •

Yoel Melamed • Lior Maroz

Received: 7 February 2010 / Accepted: 20 May 2011 / Published online: 3 June 2011

� Springer-Verlag 2011

Abstract For thousands of years, flax was a winter crop

of major importance in the ancient Levant, second only to

wheat and barley. It was cultivated from the beginning of

the early Neolithic period through to Roman times and it is

still grown there today. Flax seeds (linseed) contain high

concentrations of two essential polyunsaturated fatty

acids—linoleic acid (x-6) and a-linolenic acid (x-3),

which cannot be produced by the human body. Their oxi-

dation occurs rapidly in the air. So, long term storage of

linseed needed airtight containers, and tightly stoppered

bottles could be used to keep its oil as a remedy. However,

were flax seeds consumed as a food, oil or medicament in

ancient periods? How commonly were flax seeds eaten?

From archaeobotanical finds of flax seed, it is difficult to

determine whether the flax was cultivated for fibres alone

or for its seeds that can be cold-pressed to release the

valuable oil. We have therefore studied ancient written

documents describing various uses of flax seeds, including

their consumption as a food supplement and uses in med-

ical applications. We conclude that until recently flax was

grown primarily for textile fibres, and only smaller quan-

tities of flax seeds were consumed. So, the flax seed finds

from the early Iron Age site of Tel Beth-Shean also rep-

resent seed consumption or oil extraction.

Keywords Linseed oil � DHA � EPA � x-3 � Israel �Iron Age

Introduction

Flax cultivation

Linum usitatissimum (flax) is an annual herbaceous plant

grown today for fibres as well as for oil, which is extracted

from the seeds. The young plants are particularly sensitive

to weeds because their germination is relatively slow. The

stalk is thin and upright, 50–120 cm high, with several

flowers carried on long pedicels on the top (Agnew 1980).

Flax for fibres, which is sown densely, produces a single

unbranched stem. In contrast, flax for oil has stalks with two

to three lower branches, which are extremely branched at

the top. Each capsule contains up to 10 seeds, which are

oblong, flat and shiny. The seeds each weigh 3–5 mg in the

fibre varieties and 5–15 mg in flax grown for oil. The world

average seed yield in fibre varieties is about 40 kg per

dunam (0.1 ha). Some 12–14 kg is required for planting a

dunam of fibre-variety flax and two-thirds of that amount for

the oil varieties (Marani 1972; Fouilloux 1989). It appears

that twice as many flax seeds were sown per unit area in the

Roman period than today, as mentioned in Columella

2.10.17 (Ash 1941), Pliny 19.2 (Rackham 1971), Kilaim 2:2

(Neusner 1988) and Kilaim 27:4 (Guggenheimer 1999).

This ancient practice might represent farmers’ attempts to

cope with weeds that hinder flax sprouts during germina-

tion. So, as the seed yields were considerably greater than

what would be required for sowing in the following year, the

remaining edible seeds could be consumed.

Flax for seeds was traditionally grown in the 20th cen-

tury in central Anatolia, and the harvesting was done with

sickles. As the capsules have a mucilaginous coating and

stick together, only the tops of the plants with the capsules

were harvested. The harvested capsules were piled up, and

at the end of the harvest carried to the threshing floor where

Communicated by S. Karg.

M. E. Kislev (&) � O. Simchoni � Y. Melamed � L. Maroz

Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University,

52900 Ramat-Gan, Israel

e-mail: Mordechai.kislev@biu.ac.il

123

Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:579–584

DOI 10.1007/s00334-011-0303-5

they were processed with a threshing sledge and then

sieved. But if flax was cultivated for fibre, then there was

no need to wait until the seeds ripened, and it was uprooted

while the plant was still green. Some sources indicate that

flax can be used for both purposes after the seeds have

ripened, when it is also uprooted by hand (Ertug 2000).

To maintain fertility of the land, it has been established

that a flax farmer should properly wait at least 5–6 years

before replanting, as the crop significantly depletes field

nutrients and perhaps increases the danger of infestation by

Fusarium lini, the agent causing flax wilt (Marani 1972).

During the 20th century, Israeli farmers grew flax for oil,

but this was halted for economic reasons, partially because

of the land depletion problem. This depletion was also

recognized in antiquity, as the Mishnah from the Roman

period records: ‘‘One who leases a field from his friend for

a few years—one should not plant flax because the soil

cannot replenish its strength, but if one leased the field for

7 years one may plant flax in the first year because the soil

can replenish its strength’’ (Baba Metzia 9:9, Neusner

1988). In fact, particular installations at Tel Abu Shusha

(Geva), Jezreel valley, Israel, from the late Roman period,

were suggested to have been used for the production of flax

fibres and linseed oil (Safrai and Linn 1988).

Additional evidence for the prevalence of flax cultiva-

tion is provided from the same century by 750 seeds found

at Deir ’Alla, Jordan, 35 km south of Tel Beth-Shean.

Large amounts (30,000) of flax seeds were also recovered

in later levels dated to the 7th–5th c. B.C. (van Zeist and

Heeres 1973).

Linseed oil extraction

Flax was grown from the beginning of the early Neolithic

to the Roman period (van Zeist 2000; Zohary and Hopf

2000, pp. 126ff), primarily for textile fibres, but it was also

used to produce seeds and oil for dietary, medical and other

applications (Lucas and Harris 1962, pp. 142ff; Nicholson

and Shaw 2000, pp. 269ff). Today, however, flax is grown

more for its oil than for fibres. Linseed oil is in great

demand due to its rapid drying, which is important for the

paint industry. The seeds contain about 40% oil on a dry

weight basis which is 73% rich in polyunsaturated lipids

(Vaisey-Genser and Morris 2003). Traditional production

of linseed oil was practised in central Anatolia as follows:

the seeds were first roasted in an oven, then ground with a

millstone and the flour-like product was mixed with water

to prepare dough. This dough was packed into special

baskets which were stacked under heavy wooden beams

and pressed by turning a large wooden screw. The baskets

stayed under pressure for about 24 h, during which the oil

drained from them. The oil was used for cooking, lamp oil

and to protect water buffalo against insects and cracked

skin (Ertug 2000). Processed industrially by distillation,

linseed oil is inedible. However, cold-pressed oil and the

seeds themselves are used now as nutritional supplements

and in medicine and, as we will show, they were so used in

the past.

Flax seeds contain high concentrations of essential

polyunsaturated fatty acids, which cannot be produced by

the human body and must be obtained from the diet. These

include a-linolenic acid (x-3) as well as linoleic acid

(x-6), the names derived from the Latin word for flax,

linum. While a-linolenic acid is generally quite rare in

other seeds, they can contain significant amounts of linoleic

acid. In the human body, a-linolenic acid is the chemical

precursor for making the longer-chain x-3 fatty acids,

eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid

(DHA). DHA serves as a major component of membrane

phospholipids in retinal photoreceptors, cerebral grey

matter, testes and sperm. While only small amounts of EPA

are present in the human body, it is nevertheless important

for preventing coronary heart disease, arrhythmias and

thromboses. Both acids reduce blood cholesterol levels and

provide fluidity to cell membranes. Deficiency in EPA and

DHA may delay growth in children, and their extreme and

prolonged insufficiency can be fatal. A lack of them may

also impair immune system operation, cardiovascular

health, motor function and vision. For adults, the recom-

mended daily consumption of these two essential fatty

acids is a few grams, with a x-6/x-3 ratio of 5/1 to 10/1

(Institute of Medicine of the National Academies 2005,

pp. 427–455; Arterburn et al. 2006; Simopoulos 1991;

Siddiqui et al. 2004; Vaisey-Genser and Morris 2003).

The archaeological site

Beth-Shean served as an Egyptian imperial administrative

and military base after the rule of Ramesses III (Panitz-

Cohen and Mazar 2009, pp. 1, 95, 139, 147, 577, photo

4.68, 4.69, 10.14; Kislev et al. 2009; Shamir 2009). Tel

Beth-Shean is located at the junction of two important

roads, the east–west road from the Jezreel valley to Gilead,

and the road running the length of the Jordan valley. The

site was occupied almost continuously from the late Neo-

lithic to early Arabic periods (Stern 1993).

Materials and methods

A subsample has been studied from a bin at Tel Beth-Shean

containing three quite similar compartments which were

full of charred Linum usitatissimum seeds and with a total

recovered volume of at least 0.69 m3. The content of only

one of the three compartments (Locus 28817) had been

sent to us for investigation. The two smaller flax seed

580 Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:579–584

123

samples (with a few thousand each) were partly retrieved

by flotation. The total number of seeds was estimated by

weighing the whole samples and dividing by the average

weight of 100 complete seeds from six samples.

Because it is difficult to determine from archaeobotan-

ical finds of flax seeds whether they were cultivated for

fibres alone, or if they were also cold-pressed to release

their oil, ancient written documents describing various uses

of flax seeds, including their consumption as a nutritional

supplement and uses in medical applications were explored

too. We have used the following primary sources: the

Jewish Mishnah (Neusner 1988), Tosefta (Neusner 1977),

Babylonian Talmud (Epstein 1935), Jerusalem Talmud

(Guggenheimer 1999) and Midrash Tanhuma (Berman

1996), as well as the classic literature by Columella On

agriculture and trees (Ash 1941), Dioscorides De materia

medica (Osbaldeston and Wood 2000), Galen On the

properties of foodstuffs (Powell 2003), Pliny Natural his-

tory (Rackham 1971) and Varro On agriculture (Hooper

and Ash 1967).

Results

Plant remains

Over a million charred flax seeds were found at Tel Beth-

Shean, Israel, Area S, level VI (S-3), in three caches as well

as caches of wheat and barley grains, dated to Iron Age IA,

12th c. B.C., the late 20th dynasty in Egypt. One flax seed

cache and a piece of linen cloth were found in building SG.

The other two were recovered in building SK, of which the

largest one was found in a bin (Figs. 1, 2).

The largest flax sample consisted of more than half a

million seeds in a rather good state of preservation. The

flax seeds were pure, apparently stored after processing;

there were no flax capsule remains, weeds or accompany-

ing crop remains.

Written ancient documentary evidence for flax seed

and its products

Some early Sumerian and Akkadian texts mention se-gis-ı

and samassamme respectively, an ‘‘oil plant’’, etymologi-

cally related to ‘‘sesame’’, together with evidence of ses-

ame occurring in the archaeological record (Bedigian

2004). On the other hand, some scholars hold that these

words refer to flax, so there is no agreement whether the

words refer to flax or to another oil plant (Postgate 1985;

Waetzoldt 1985). Even if part of the texts refers to flax, the

following sentences might be of interest here: the Assyri-

ans of Mesopotamia apparently used linseed and linseed oil

as a poultice, as well as in treatments via the various body

openings. These include its use as a demulcent and aph-

rodisiac, in honey for coughs, and for inflammation of

mucous membranes. The oil was introduced into the

vagina, rectum and bladder for catarrh, while the seeds

were used as an astringent and in fumigation. Linseed tea

was drunk for catarrh, diarrhoea and urinary problems

(Thompson 1949, p. 113).

Flax crops are shown in some Egyptian tomb scenes,

where the density of the upright plants suggests that they

were grown either for fibres or for both fibres and seeds.

Cold-pressed linseed oil is still used in Egypt in its tradi-

tional horse bean dish. However, because of its tendency to

become rancid, the oil was probably seldom used in cos-

metic preparations (Nicholson and Shaw 2000, pp. 396ff).

Some authors are of the opinion that an inedible form of

the oil was apparently used as a lubricant by the ancient

Egyptians for dragging stones from quarries, placing stat-

ues in position or moving a burial sledge. Water and oil or

grease were poured in front of the sledge to ease its

Fig. 1 Charred seeds of Linum usitatissimum (flax) from Tel Beth-

Shean, Locus 28817. The seeds are smooth, oblong and flattened. In

many of them one half is broken or missing

Fig. 2 Lump of charred flax seeds from the same locus. Their

consolidation into lumps was apparently due to the outburst of hot oil

during carbonization. Photos by O. Simchoni

Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:579–584 581

123

movement. It is quite likely that the Egyptians were aware

of linseed oil’s preservative properties. The oil was used in

the manufacture of wooden furniture, ship building, etc. It

was also employed as an ingredient in tanning and used to

finish and preserve a wide variety of leather goods

(Pengilly 2003).

Domestic uses for flax oil fulfilled a variety of human

needs beyond nutrition. From hieroglyphic records, it can

be seen that the Egyptians anointed themselves with oil

before leaving home, and it was customary that guests were

attended to by servants who anointed each person with oil

as a principal token of welcome. Oil or mucilage gum was

a likely ingredient of preparations with which Egyptian

women to styled their hair. Cleansing oils were used also to

heal and protect the skin from the sun and from biting

insects (Pengilly 2003). A bandage for finger or toe nails

was made of ochre, linseed, an unidentified part of the

sycamore fig, honey and oil or fat. A poultice of flax seeds

does indeed relieve pain and heals skin wounds and sup-

purations (Manniche 1999, p. 116). Although flax seeds are

frequently found in archaeological sites in Egypt (Vartavan

and Asensi Amoros 1997, pp. 158ff), there is no certainty

from the hieroglyphs that linseed was used in ancient

Egyptian medicines before the Graeco-Roman period

(Germer 1985, pp. 100ff).

In the Graeco-Roman world flax was grown primarily

for the production of linen and its seeds were certainly a

useful by-product. Linseed could act as a famine food or as

a regular dietary supplement. Pliny (19.2) states that the

peasants of north Italy often ate a porridge made of ground

linseed (Rackham 1971). Galen (1.32) adds that linseed

was eaten most frequently by peasants who after roasting

them mixed them with honey (Gallant 1985; Powell 2003).

Traditional uses of linseed oil were also described by

Dioscorides, a Greek physician who wrote his De Materia

Medica in the first century A.D., which served for centuries

as the most important source for medical prescriptions

throughout the Roman Empire. According to Dioscorides,

flax seeds were used mainly for dispersing and softening

internal and external inflammations (Osbaldeston and

Wood 2000, pp. 245ff).

The Babylonian Talmud indicates that flax seeds were

mostly used for sowing, and that smaller amounts were

consumed (2nd century A.D.) (Baba Bathra 93a–b, Epstein

1935):

Come and hear! ‘[if] anyone has sold fruit to

another… and [the buyer] sowed them and they did

not grow, even [if they were] linseed, he is not

responsible. Does not ‘even’ imply, ‘even linseed

most of which is bought for sowing purposes’? And

[does not this show that] even in such a case one is

not guided by the majority principle! This is [a

subject of dispute between] Tannaim. For it has been

taught: [In the case when] one has sold fruit to

another and [the buyer] sowed them and they did not

grow, [if they are] garden seeds which are not eaten,

he is responsible; [if they are] linseed, he is not

responsible. R. Jose said: he must refund to him the

price of the seed. They replied unto him: Many buy it

for other purposes. Now who are the Tannaim

[between whom the question of the majority princi-

ple, as has been said, is in dispute]? If it is assumed

that they are R. Jose, and ‘those who replied to him’;

[surely] both, [it may be retorted], follow the majority

principle; one follows the majority of men, the others,

the majority of the seed.

It can be concluded from this source that:

(1) Since some people buy linseed for purposes other

than sowing, the seller can claim to have sold them

for any of these uses.

(2) Most linseed is sold for sowing; for every person who

buys a large quantity of linseed for sowing, there are

ten times as many people who buy it in smaller

quantities for food, medicinal, or other purposes

(Epstein 1935, pp. 385f).

(3) Furthermore, the following section in the Israeli

rabbinic Midrash Tanhuma (Roman period) (Berman

1996) is better explained by flax seeds that were

intended for eating as a nutritional supplement:

Our sages, of blessed memory, said that Cain and

Abel were 40 years old when Cain brought of the

fruit of the ground (Genesis 4: 3). What did he bring

as his offering? He brought only the leftovers of his

meal. However, the rabbis maintained that Cain

brought flax seed, while Abel brought firstlings of his

flock and of the fat thereof (Genesis 4: 4). That is why

it is ordained that wool and flax must not be mixed, as

it is said: Thou shalt not wear mingled stuff, wool and

linen together (Deuteronomy 22: 11). The Holy One,

blessed be He, declared: it is not fitting that a sinner’s

offering and the sacrifice of a virtuous man should be

coupled. Hence it is forbidden to combine them in

one garment. (This is one rationalization of the Torah

law of shatnez, prohibiting the wearing of garments

composed of both wool and linen) (Genesis 9, Ber-

man 1996).

Discussion

Linseed was the major traditional plant source in the Near

East of high concentrations of x-3, a-linolenic acid. Other

582 Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:579–584

123

vegetable oils of the Roman period, such as sesame, wal-

nut, colocynth and canola (rapeseed) (Shabbat 2, 2,

Neusner 1988), have concentrations of about 10% or less

than that of linseed oil. Other species that are relatively rich

in a-linolenic acid, such as Glycine max (soy) and Can-

nabis sativa (hemp) reaching 8 and 20% in cold pressed oil,

as compared to 55% in linseed oil, had not yet been

established in the Near East. In addition, high percentages

of DHA and lower amounts of EPA, both derivatives of

a-linolenic acid, are found in animal organs, including the

brains and testes of terrestrial mammals. Some tribal peo-

ple valued these organs without knowing the reason for

their health attributes. They consumed these foods soon

after the hunt, either fresh or partially roasted, thereby

preventing spoilage and chemical oxidation of these

unsaturated fatty acids. This oxidation occurs rapidly in air,

which upon heating increases dramatically with the number

of double bonds. Linolenic acid, with three double bonds,

is very sensitive and is oxidized 125 times faster than its

parallel saturated fatty acid, and 25 times faster than lin-

oleic acid with two double bonds. When polyunsaturated

fatty acids react with air, they do not produce saturated

acids, but inedible, toxic materials. Linseed oil that is

extracted by heat is inedible because at 90�C the reactivity

of the unsaturated acids to oxygen increases by more than

one hundred times (J. Shoham, Faculty of Life Sciences,

Bar-Ilan University, personal communication, July 2009;

Vaisey-Genser and Morris 2003). Because of this sensi-

tivity, we can assume that in the past, flax seeds were

stored in their natural state and were ground or cold-pres-

sed for oil shortly before consumption, as is customary

today in traditional Near Eastern households (Pengilly

2003; Vaisey-Genser and Morris 2003).

Flax ripens in the summer and the seeds are preserved

naturally in the cool of winter. However, it is likely that by

spring the oily acid content of the seeds would be somewhat

oxidized. If we assume that the ancients were familiar with

the repulsive odour of spoiled linseed oil, it is likely that the

seeds were more actively traded than the oil. This might

explain the high frequency of flax seed finds in archaeo-

logical sites. Because light and heat accelerate oxidation,

contemporary flax seed oil for dietary consumption is pro-

duced by cold pressing and sold in sealed opaque bottles

with an inert atmosphere, and must be refrigerated once

opened. Ground flax seed, which is also consumed as a

nutritional supplement, must similarly be dispensed in pro-

tective capsules or small sealed bottles. Despite protection

afforded to unsaturated fatty acids by seed tissue itself, long

time storage of flax seeds should be in airtight containers.

This type of vessel is mentioned in the Bible:

And every open vessel, which has no covering bound

upon it, is unclean (Numbers 19: 15).

Such containers are described in detail in the rabbinical

literature: ‘‘These vessels afford protection [against the

entry of uncleanness from a corpse under the same roof]

with a tightly stopped-up cover; vessels [made] of dung,

vessels of stone, vessels of earth [not fired], vessels of

[fired] clay, and vessels of alum crystal… With what do

they stop up? With lime and with gypsum, with pitch and

with wax, with plaster and with excrements, with crude

clay and with potter’s clay and with any thing that is used

for plaster. They do not stop up either with tin, or with lead,

because it is a covering, but it is not tightly stopped-up.’’

(Kelim 10: 1–2, Neusner 1988; see also, Tosefta, Kelim,

Baba Qamma, 7 16, Neusner 1977).

Apparently, there were also bottles with tightly stop-

pered lids that could be used to keep flax oil as a remedy.

Stored cereals were also protected in Roman time from

spoilage. Available to us are quotations from the classical

literature and archaeological evidence for the storage of

cereals and methods of protecting the grain against storage

pests. One of the main principles of storage was hermetic

sealing to keep out air (Varro, I, LVII, Hooper and Ash

1967).

Were ancient flax seeds found in archaeological exca-

vations used for producing oil for ointments, for eating

(seeds or oil) or just for sowing for fibres? To clarify this

question, one must realize that the seed yields were con-

siderably greater than what would be required for sowing

in the following year. Determining the possible uses of this

excess flax seed requires finding archaeological evidence

of oil vessels, drawings, or inscriptions associated with the

seeds or historic literature sources describing seed con-

sumption or oil production. This problem also exists for

other crops that can be grown for various purposes, such as

grapes and olives. Were grapes and olives in all historic

and prehistoric sites intended mostly for wine and oil, or

were they were also harvested either for eating fresh,

preparing raisins or for curing olives? When comparing the

archaeological finds of oil-containing plants, it appears that

the most common plant was the olive, followed by flax and

walnut, which are all comparatively easily preserved in the

archaeobotanical record. To understand the difficulty of

finding possible alternative uses of such plants, it must be

remembered that the remains of wine and oil are less

commonly found than are grape pips or olive stones. To

date, despite many recorded samples of flax cloth and

fibres, there have been no reports of remains of linseed oil.

Conclusions

Flax seeds are found quite frequently in archaeological

excavations throughout the Near East, in most cases in

Veget Hist Archaeobot (2011) 20:579–584 583

123

small quantities. Generally, it is difficult to determine from

the finds whether the seeds were intended merely for

sowing, or if they were also consumed and used for oil

production. However, historical documents provide evi-

dence that most of the yield was kept for the next year’s

sowing, and smaller quantities of flax seed and its oil were

consumed and used as a nutritional supplement, medicinal

remedies and other uses. When flax seeds or their products

are stored they need to be protected against oxidation. This

can be done by tightly stopping-up the cover of the vessels

in which they are kept. Such closed vessels were found at

Tel Beth-Shean (Panitz-Cohen and Mazar 2009, pp. 254ff).

We suggest that part of the flax seeds was either intended

as a food component or for extracting medicinal oil.

Acknowledgment We would like to thank Amihai Mazar, Institute

of Archaeology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, for enabling us to

study and publish the archaeobotanical material from Tel Beth-Shean

discussed in this article.

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