The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Found the earliest evidence of the use of opium in Israel - voila! tourism

2022-09-20T04:08:24.624Z


The remains of the opium were found in pottery excavated in Judea and dated to the 14th century BC. According to the researchers, the Canaanites at the site used the psychoactive drug for the worship of the dead


found the earliest evidence of the use of opium specifically in Israel

The remains of opium were found in pottery in Canaanite graves excavated in Judea and dated to the 14th century BC. According to the researchers, including Ariola Yacoel who managed the excavation, the Canaanites at the site used the psychoactive drug for the worship of the dead and this is, apparently, the earliest archaeological evidence in the world for the use of the drug

Ziv Reinstein

09/20/2022

Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 06:00 Updated: 06:55

  • Share on Facebook

  • Share on WhatsApp

  • Share on Twitter

  • Share by email

  • Share in general

  • Comments

    Comments

A cave from the time of Pharaoh II was discovered in the Palmachim National Park (Uzi Rothstein, Israel Antiquities Authority)

A new study by the Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science has revealed the earliest evidence of the use of the hallucinogenic drug opium and psychoactive drugs in general in the Land of Israel.

The remains of the opium were found in pottery excavated at Tel Yehud, in an excavation conducted by Ariola Yakoel on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, and apparently, this is the earliest archaeological evidence of the use of opium in the world.



The pots that contained the opium date back to the 14th century BC, and they were found in the tombs of Canaanites and were apparently used as part of the local cult of the dead. The exciting discovery confirms historical writings and archaeological hypotheses according to which opium and its trade played a central role in the cultures of the Near East.



The research was conducted as part of the doctoral thesis of Vanessa Linares under the guidance of Prof. Oded Lifshitz and Prof. Yuval Gadot from the Department of Archeology at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Ariola Yekuel and Dr. Ron Barry from the Antiquities Authority and Prof. Roni Newman from the Weizmann Institute of Science.

The study was published in the journal Archaeometry.

A Canaanite tomb, which was uncovered by the excavation of the Antiquities Authority in Judea, and contains a collection of offerings and sacrifices that were presented to the entombed by his relatives during the burial ceremony, or after it.

Above the feet of the buried person was placed a storage jar, covered with a cup (see above "milk bowl").

The jug was intended to be used in ceremonies held by the relatives of the person buried above the grave.

Adjacent to the skeleton is an assemblage of by-products, intended to serve the deceased after his death. (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Assaf Peretz)

Pechiots and pechiots from the ring base family that were placed on the dead body.

Tel Aviv University tests found traces of opium in these vessels (photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Assaf Peretz)

Opium and its trade played a central role in Near Eastern cultures.

Excavator of the site Ariola Yekuel (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Assaf Peretz)

Vessels that resemble a poppy flower in shape

In 2017, the Antiquities Authority conducted a salvage excavation at the Tel Yehud site, prior to the construction of residences there.

In the excavation, a number of Canaanite graves from the Late Bronze Age were found - and next to them were burial offerings, vessels intended to accompany the dead to the next world.

Among the pottery, a large group of vessels made in Cyprus and referred to in the study as "ring base vessels" stood out.



Since the vessels are similar in shape to the poppy flower when closed and upside down, already in the 19th century the hypothesis arose that they were used as ritual vessels for this drug.

Now, an organic residue analysis has revealed opium residues in eight pottery, some of which are local pottery and some of which were made in Cyprus - the first time that opium has been found in pottery in general, in pottery from the ring base family in particular, and the earliest evidence of the use of hallucinogens in the Middle East.

Pechit from the ring base family.

It is possible that the body of the tool simulates the latex of the poppy plant, and it is possible that the plastic strip glued to it simulates the latex - the liquid that oozes from the latex of the opium plant, after grooves have been cut into it.

Remains of opium were discovered inside such vessels (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Clara Amit)

Vanessa Linares, Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University)

The research is the result of an initiative by Ariola Yekuel and Dr. Ron Barry from the Antiquities Authority. Ron Barry points out: "In the excavations conducted so far at Tel Yehud, hundreds of Canaanite graves have been excavated from the 18th to the 13th centuries BC. The burials were mostly adults of both sexes, respected In foods and drinks that were placed for them in pottery inside the grave, served to them after the burial in the form of offerings and sacrifices, or eaten in their honor at a feast of the relatives above the grave, a feast in which the deceased is considered a participant. It is



possible that in these ceremonies the family members raised the spirits of their dead relatives from the grave to make a request, and that the participants in the magical ceremony - whether conducted by the family members or by a priest on their behalf - would enter an ecstatic state using the opium. Alternatively, it is possible that the opium, which was placed next to the buried, was intended to 'help the spirit of the dead rise from the grave' in preparation for the long-awaited meeting with his relatives in the next life ".

Dr. Ron Barry: "It seems that the Canaanites attached great importance to 'satisfying the needs of the dead'" (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Yaniv Berman)

Vanessa Linares from Tel Aviv University explains: "This is the only psychoactive drug found in the Levant in the Late Bronze Age. In 2020, researchers discovered remains of cannabis on an altar in Tel Arad - but this is already in the Iron Age, hundreds of years after the opium in Tel Yehud. Since the opium was found at a burial site, It gives us a rare glimpse into the burial customs of the ancient world. Of course, we do not know what the role of opium was in the ceremony - whether the Canaanites in Judah believed that the dead would need opium in the afterlife, or whether it was the priests who consumed the drug for the purposes of the ceremony. In addition, the discovery sheds light on the branch trade In opium in general. It should be remembered that opium is produced from poppy flowers, which grow in Asia Minor - that is, in the territory of today's Turkey - while the pottery in which we identified the opium was produced in Cyprus. In other words, opium was brought to the Jews from Turkey, through Cyprus, and this of course indicates the importance they attributed to the drug."



Dr. Ron Barry adds: "Until now, no written sources have been discovered that describe the exact use of narcotics in burial ceremonies, so we can only speculate what was done with opium.

From documents that were discovered in the ancient Near East, it seems that the Canaanites attached great importance to 'satisfying the needs of the dead' through ritual ceremonies performed for them by the living - and believed that in return the ghosts took care of the health and safety of their living relatives."

  • tourism

  • news

Tags

  • opium

  • Archaeology

  • Yehud

Source: walla

All life articles on 2022-09-20

You may like

Business 2024-02-13T18:09:43.880Z

Trends 24h

Life/Entertain 2024-03-28T17:17:20.523Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.