FT268


The myth

Dried peas discovered in Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 were found to be viable; the variety called Tutankhamen’s Pea, available today, is descended from those ancient seeds.


The “truth”

There are a number of varieties of “Mummy’s Peas” (and, indeed, sweet peas) on sale today, but the seed heritage experts at Kew Gardens say that “To the best of our knowledge, none of these stories is strongly supported by archæological evidence.” Various sources point out that the conditions in tombs, which have ensured the survival of many artefacts, are in fact too dry for good seed storage. Other than uncorrob­orated tradition, there seems to be no evidence that any seeds found in ancient Egyptian tombs have ever been successfully germinated. It’s widely claimed that in the 19th and early 20th centuries, at the height of the Western craze for Egyptology, local entrepreneurs were happy to sell to tourists ordinary, modern seeds, represented as having been recovered from tombs. A simple misunderstanding may also be involved; it is sometimes said that Tutankhamen’s Pea originated on the country estate of Lord Caernarvon, who financed Howard Carter’s search for King Tut’s resting place – and was subsequently named in honour of Caernarvon’s claim to fame, rather than the plant’s origin.


Sources

How long can seeds live?
Cherfas, Fanton & Fanton: The seed savers’ handbook, Grover Books, 1996
Seed Exchange Directory
Sweet Pea Tutankhamun Seeds, Dobies of Devon
Seed News no. 45, Autumn 2005
HSL seeds, Allotments4All
Mummy Peas, Gardener's Monthly(1885).


Disclaimer

The mundane explanations – either crooked or confused or both – seem the more likely. But the story is undeniably incomplete, so if you have proof that it’s wrong, please wrap it up in bandages, and send it lurching towards FT’s letters column.