At any rate, by the middle of the sixteenth century, the word arbor was being used to describe leafly retreats. It should be obvious from the above paragraph that the ancient Romans didn t use the word arbor , because it hadn t been invented yet, but they did create arbors. Arbors are among the oldest features in the gardens of Western Civilization, dating back to Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. We know that the ancient Romans grew grapes in this manner. This tradition is still practiced in areas of rich volcanic soil near Naples.
Architectural arbors are also very ancient garden features.
We know that they were being constructed in the gardens of ancient Egypt , at least during the New Kingdom. There are no depiction's of ornamental gardens which survive from the Old Kingdom, but a painting which was found in the tomb of one of Amenhotep III s high officials shows a garden with two rectangular arbors. I have read that most Egyptian arbors were made of wood and that only the gardens of the wealthy featured pergolas with masonry pillars. I question this because wood was always rare in Egypt, while there was plenty of clay to make bricks from. One of the main differences between modern arbors and pergolas is that pergolas are more architectural and often feature masonry or stone pillars and columns.