ence for an ancient spice trade.
Further evidence is provided by Egyptian records where, as far back as 2600 BCE, the labourers building Cheops' great pyramid were fed Asiatic spices to give them strength. Archaeological evidence from Sumeria (circa 2400 BCE) also suggests that cloves were popular in Syria (cloves could only be attained from the Indonesian Spice Islands, the Moluccas). Strong evidence that trade with the spice islands themselves is truly ancient.
Almost a millennium later, the