Researchers Uncover Hallucinogenic Substances From a 2,200-Year-Old Ceramic Drinking Vessel in Egypt

Scientists have recently uncovered evidence of hallucinogens in a 2,200-year-old ceramic drinking vessel in Egypt. This finding verifies the long-standing speculation that ancient Egyptians took hallucinogens for various purposes, Science Alert reported.

The artifact was donated to the Tampa Museum of Art back in 1984. Recently a team from the U.S. and Italy collaborated to analyze the content inside it. Findings regarding the drinking vessel have been published in the journal Scientific Reports. 

The mug's outside was shaped to look like the head of Bes, an ancient Egyptian deity of fertility, protection, medicinal healing, and magical purification, CNN reported. These kinds of vessels were very popular in Egypt and had been produced in large numbers. Only a few of them have managed to survive. For years, archeologists have been trying to figure out the purpose of these vessels, because the ones that have been found, have all been discovered in different contexts. There is no common thread linking them all together. 

The pursuit of finding out the vessel's original function is what made scientists analyze the inside of the ceramic mug in the Tampa Museum of Art. The artifact was 1.7 inches (4.5 centimeters) in height and could hold 4.2 fluid ounces (125 milliliters).

"For a very long time now, Egyptologists have been speculating what mugs with the head of Bes could have been used for, and for what kind of beverage, like sacred water, milk, wine or beer," said study coauthor Branko van Oppen, curator of Greek and Roman art at the Tampa Museum of Art. "Experts did not know if these mugs were used in daily life, for religious purposes, or in magic rituals."

Researchers scrapped the walls of the mug and then pulverized the resultant sample. Thereafter various tests like advanced chemical and DNA analysis were conducted to determine a recipe of substances that had stained the cup and left its residues. Experts found evidence of four kinds of substances: an alcoholic base, flavoring agents, human bodily fluids, and medicinal and psychotropic ingredients.

Analysis has revealed that the cup once held fragments of plants like Egyptian blue water lily and Syrian rue. These plants are known to have hallucinogenic properties, and depending on the quantity in which they are taken could produce visionary experiences. 

Traces of alcohol, honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice, and grapes were also uncovered from the mug, Smithsonian Magazine reported. There was also proof of human blood and bodily fluids inside the vessel.  "Proteins from blood, vaginal mucus, and possibly breast milk were identified. These fluids may have held symbolic or ritual significance, emphasizing themes of life, fertility, and regeneration," co-author, Enrico Greco, a chemist at the University of Trieste stated. "The inclusion of human fluids, such as blood and mucous secretions, was an unexpected and highly symbolic element."

Researchers believe that the concoction prepared in the vessel was used by priests in a kind of practice before prominent tasks like pregnancy, CNN reported. "This research teaches us about magic rituals in the Greco-Roman period in Egypt," van Oppen explained. "Egyptologists believe that people visited the so-called Bes Chambers at Saqqara when they wished to confirm a successful pregnancy because pregnancies in the ancient world were fraught with dangers. So, this combination of ingredients may have been used in a dream-vision-inducing magic ritual within the context of this dangerous period of childbirth," said van Oppen.

The next objective for researchers is to find out whether all vessels sporting Bess from that time contained similar substances. They hope their examination will help them in figuring out the purpose of these popular vessels in ancient Egypt.