Black Seed in Tutankhamun's Tomb: What the Record Shows
Howard Carter's botanical notes for Tutankhamun's tomb list Nigella seeds in one sample. This history separates that record from later claims about thymoquinone and medieval physicians, then reads four randomized trials from 2008 to 2014, with each claim tied to its source.
The history of black seed is thinner than its reputation suggests. The best-documented ancient fact is a single sample of Nigella seeds, recorded in Howard Carter's botanical notes for Tutankhamun's tomb. Larger claims attach themselves to the seed. They include the names of medieval physicians and the year thymoquinone was isolated. No primary source checked for this post confirms either, so both stay out. ## What does the Tutankhamun record list? The Griffith Institute at the University of Oxford publishes the botanical section of Carter's notes for Tutankhamun's tomb, online as the [Tutankhamun Archive](http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/4tutbot.html). That section is headed "Boodle's Final Reports," dated October 1933. A letter of 19 October 1933 in the same archive refers to the Nigella sheet by its number, 16a. The entry itself is short. It identifies the seeds as Nigella, calls the plant gith or black cumin, and says seeds of this species are present in one sample, catalogued as number 614 H. The entry also says the plant is cultivated and occurs in South Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor. It does not say how the seeds reached the tomb, what they were used for, or why they were there. ## How to read a tomb-based claim A catalogue entry tells you what was identified in a sample. It does not show that the seed was used as medicine in the tomb. The entry's medicinal note says "The seeds have medicinal properties," followed by the citations "Tsch." and "Drag." Those are references to earlier authors. Treat the sample as evidence that the seed was present, nothing more. Any claim about use, purpose or reputation in ancient Egypt is a separate claim, and it needs its own source. ## What did the early randomized trials test? According to PubMed, four randomized trials published between 2008 and 2014 tested the seed in people. The table reports each one from its abstract. | Trial | Who was studied | Design | What was measured | What the abstract reports | |---|---|---|---|---| | [Dehkordi and Kamkhah, 2008](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-8206.2008.00607.x) | Patients with mild hypertension | Placebo, or 100 or 200 mg of seed extract twice a day for 8 weeks | Blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol | Systolic and diastolic pressure fell more than placebo (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01); cholesterol fell from baseline | | [Boskabady and Farhadi, 2008](https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0049) | 40 chemical war victims | Boiled extract or placebo daily for 2 months | Respiratory symptoms, wheezing, lung function | Study group differed from controls at the third visit; the authors said the finding warrants further research | | [Qidwai et al., 2009](https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0367) | 123 adults recruited in Karachi, 73 completed | Powdered seed in capsules or placebo | Lipids, blood sugar, blood pressure, body weight | Favorable trends on almost all measures, not statistically significant, attributed to small sample size | | [Bin Sayeed et al., 2014](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2013.12.050) | 48 healthy adolescent males, aged 14 to 17 | One 500 mg seed capsule or placebo daily for 4 weeks | Mood, anxiety, verbal learning and memory | Mood and trait anxiety changed within the seed group only; some memory measures differed between groups | Most outcomes rest on a single trial in this set, so the evidence for each is limited. None of the four trials measured infection or immune function. For those outcomes, start with the [immune health guide](/health/immune-health). The two 2008 trials, one in hypertension and one in chemical war victims, reported effects against placebo. The Dehkordi abstract does not state how many people were enrolled. The Qidwai team saw favorable trends that did not reach statistical significance, which they attributed to a small sample. The 2014 trial's closing summary says the seed was observed to stabilize mood, decrease anxiety and modulate cognition. The between-group results in the same abstract show no difference in mood or anxiety, and some memory measures, mainly long-term recall, separated the groups. The authors suggested a longer study before the seed is used extensively. Thymoquinone appears in none of the four abstracts, so none reports a dose of it. The trials tested seed capsules, powders and extracts. Without a thymoquinone measure, the trials cannot say which compound, if any, produced the changes they report. ## Traditional uses and the gaps in the record According to PubMed, the 2009 Karachi trial's background says Unani physicians and Ayurvedic practitioners used the seed for dyslipidemia, obesity and hypertension. That is one regional record. The Griffith entry places the plant in South Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, and its sample comes from Egypt. The sources checked here do not explain how those traditions relate, or why the uses differ. For a parallel path from a traditional system to a single compound, see [the turmeric history](/blog/history/history-of-turmeric-and-curcumin-from-ayurveda-to-isolation), which runs from Ayurveda to isolation. The chemistry is where the story runs out of sources. Later papers credit El-Dakhakhny with isolating thymoquinone in 1963. The original paper was not retrievable, and the PubMed records found for that author and period are mostly occupational health studies. This post therefore gives no isolation date. A similar oil-to-compound path appears in [the omega-3 history](/blog/history/history-of-omega-3-from-cod-liver-oil-to-epa-and-dha), which runs from cod liver oil to EPA and DHA. Standardization and medieval physicians are gaps too, and no source checked here documents when the oil was standardized. Some secondary accounts name physicians, but no primary passage confirms one. This post names none. ## Bottom line Treat the ancient record of black seed as one catalogued sample until a primary source says more. The four trials are worth reading as open questions, not settled results. Any future claim that names a physician, a year or a dose should show the passage, the date or the trial behind it. The catalogue describes one sample. Everything after it still needs a source. ## Frequently asked questions ### Was black seed found in Tutankhamun's tomb? One sample of Nigella seeds is catalogued as number 614 H in Carter's botanical notes for the tomb. The entry does not describe any use of the seeds in the tomb. ### Why was black seed found in ancient Egyptian contexts? The record does not say. Lentils, the catalogue notes, turn up among offerings to the dead, which is context rather than an answer. ### Which medieval physicians wrote about Nigella sativa? This post names none. Some secondary accounts point to physicians, but no primary passage was found to confirm a name. ### Who first isolated thymoquinone, and when? Later papers credit El-Dakhakhny with isolating it in 1963. The original paper was not retrievable, so this post gives no verified author or date. ### How did black seed oil become a standardized supplement? The sources checked do not document it. None of the four trial abstracts mentions thymoquinone or a standardized dose. ### What did the early randomized trials of black seed test? They compared black seed products with placebo on blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, weight, respiratory symptoms, mood, anxiety and memory. ### How should readers treat tomb-based claims? Treat a catalogue entry as evidence of presence, not use. Claims about purpose or reputation need their own primary source. ## Next reads - [Immune health guide](/health/immune-health): the pillar page for immune questions. None of the trials above measured infection or immune function. - [The history of turmeric and curcumin, from Ayurveda to isolation](/blog/history/history-of-turmeric-and-curcumin-from-ayurveda-to-isolation): another origin story that starts in a traditional system and ends in a compound record. ### Related reading - [The garlic origin story, from pyramid workers to allicin](/blog/history/history-of-garlic-from-pyramid-workers-to-allicin) - [The ginger origin story, from Pliny to the capsule](/blog/history/history-of-ginger-from-spice-route-to-capsule)