For the first time in Israel, a special discovery: 2500-year-old cannabis resurfaces.
Archaeologists have found
proof of cannabis use in temple rituals.
They attest to the presence of cannabis during the time of the great prophets of Israel.
In 2020, archaeologists discovered cannabis in Gallic tombs in a village near Clermont Ferrand. But this discovery is even older. "This evidence of the presence of cannabis is historically the most advanced in the region," explain the archaeologists.
The results of these excavations were published in an article in the journal of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University on May 28. The carbonized cannabis was found in a temple dating back to the era of the Kingdom of Judah which spanned from 930 to 586 BC. Incense and cannabis were found on the materials that made up the two altars of this temple.
The temple is located in Tel Arad, a few tens of kilometers south of Jerusalem. "At present, we have no information on how this cannabis arrived in Tel Arad or particularly in Judea," said Eran Arie, curator at the Israel Museum, specializing in the Iron Age and Persian period.
According to researchers, cannabis could have been used for its psychoactive effects during a ritual of the cult of Judah, "If they only wanted the smell of cannabis, they could have burned sage," explains Eran Arie. Researchers believe that, during this period, this type of ritual was reserved for the elite of society.
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