Gardens of ancient Egypt and were sometimes enclosed by walls. Temple gardens were used to raise certain vegetables for ceremonies, Palace gardens first appeared in Egypt just before the Middle Empire (2035–1668). These gardens were very large in scale, and laid out in geometric patterns. The ponds of palace gardens were enormous and numerous. In the second millennium B.C., the garden pond of King Sneferu was large enough for boats rowed by twenty oarsmen. The rulers of ancient Egypt, such as Queen Hatshepsut (1503–1482 BC), and Ramses III (1198–1166 BC) used pots to bring back to Egypt new kinds of trees and flowers discovered
Cup of the Ptolemies Cup of the Ptolemies The Cup of the Ptolemies (French: Coupe des Ptolémées), also known as the Cup of Saint Denis, is an onyx cameo two-handled cup, or "kantharos". The cup, decorated with Dionysiac vignettes and emblems, was carved at some point in Classical Antiquity, probably in Alexandria. Eventually, it found its way into the treasury of the French kingdom, before it was donated to the abbey of St. Denis. During the Middle Ages, it was used as a Christian chalice, and lavish mounts were added, with Latin inscriptions. In 1804, the cup was stolen, and the mounts were lost,