Archaeologists in Israel have detected traces of cannabis on a 2,700-year-old altar found in an ancient Jewish shrine. The finding suggests ancient Israelites used mind-altering substances during religious ceremonies, in what is an unprecedented discovery for the region.
Ancient Israelites burned cannabis mixed with animal dung on altars during ritual ceremonies, according to new research published in Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University. By adding the animal dung, the worshippers were able to burn the cannabis at mild temperatures.
The altar bearing traces of cannabis residue was found back in the 1960s at Israel’s Tel Arad archaeological site. A second altar found at the same site yielded traces of frankincense, which was also intermixed with animal excrement. The altars were located at the entrance of a Judahite shrine dating back to the Iron Age. The limestone altars, which are kept at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, were in use from around 760 BCE to 715 BCE.
With the scent of burning cannabis, incense, and animal dung wafting through the air, and with worshippers getting high off the fumes, we’re suddenly transported to an 8th-century BCE ceremony in the ancient kingdom of Judah. And indeed, the authors of the new paper, led by Eran Arie from The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, say the cannabis was very likely used to induce an altered state of consciousness.
Read the article by George Dvorsky in Gizmodo.