By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-18 17:12:01 | Updated at 2024-11-23 07:31:47
4 days ago
Ancient Egyptians consumed a gruesome alcoholic cocktail made with psychedelic drugs and bodily fluids, a new study shows.
Researchers have analysed chemical traces inside a 2,200-year-old ceramic drinking mug found in ancient Egypt.
The palm-sized mug depicts the head of the strange deity Bes, who was believed to protect women and children, specifically during labour.
Traces of a fermented alcoholic liquid derived from fruit were found, as well as psychoactive compounds from plants to induce 'dream-like visions'.
For an extra kick, they added bodily fluids to the mix, such as human blood, breast milk and even vaginal and oral mucous, the experts claim.
The concoction was also flavored with honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes, which were commonly used to make the beverage look like blood.
But it may have been drunk in moderation – one serving of the concoction was 90ml, about one sixth of a pint.
Study author Davide Tanasi, a professor at University of South Florida (USF), thinks the mixture was drunk by sick people who wanted to receive 'prophetic dreams'.
The analysis was performed on this Bes-vase, donated to Florida's Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. Bes, an ancient Egyptian deity, was worshiped for protection, fertility, medicinal healing and magical purification
University of South Florida scholar Davide Tanasi creates a 3D replica of the Egyptian Bes mug used in the study
'At this point, we are 100 per cent certain that psychotropic substances were used for "incubation rituals" connected with the cult of Bes,' he told MailOnline.
'Incubation rituals are religious practices where people sleep in a sacred space to receive a dream from a deity that may provide healing.'
Around 2,000 years ago, Bes was worshiped for protection, fertility, medicinal healing and magical purification.
The Bes vessel analysed for this study originated in the second century BC and is part of the collection at the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida.
It was said to be found in the Fayum district, a region south of Cairo known for its fertility and the abundance of plant and animal life in Ancient Egypt.
Professor Tanasi worked with USF researchers and partners in Italy at the University of Trieste and the University of Milan to perform the chemical and DNA analyses.
With a sample scraped from the inner walls of the vase, the team used multiple analytical methods including to reveal more about what was last in it.
One of the plants used as a cocktail ingredient was Peganum harmala, more commonly known as Syrian rue, native to the Mediterranean basin, they found.
The team used multiple analytical methods including spectroscopy, which involves studying the absorption and emission of light and other radiation by matter
This particular jug is said to have be found in the Fayum district, a region south of Cairo known for its fertility and the abundance of plant and animal life in Ancient Egypt
The Ancient Egyptian cocktail recipe
- Traces of a fermented alcoholic liquid derived from fruit
- Psychoactive compounds from plants
- Bodily fluids (human blood, breast milk and even vaginal and oral mucous)
- Honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes
The seeds of the plant produce high quantities of the alkaloids harmine and harmaline, which induce 'dream-like visions', the team say.
These visions tend to be 'oneirophrenic' – where a person becomes confused about the distinction between reality and dream.
Also in lower concentrations in the plant are the alkaloid vasicine, which has 'utero-tonic' properties at certain dosages, the team say.
These can aid childbirth or induce abortion – alluding to those concepts linked with Bes the deity.
Traces were also found of the aquatic plant blue lotus flower (Nymphaea caerulea), which contains the psychoactive alkaloid aporphine.
The analysis also revealed the presence of fermented fruit-based liquid and other ingredients such as honey or royal jelly.
There was even a compound found in the licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra), suggesting the cultivation of licorice in ancient Egypt.
Traces of wheat and sesame seeds were found, along with yeasts from fermentation such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (still used in baking and brewing) plus pinolenic acid, indicating a source rich in this fatty acid such as pine nuts.
Bes was a minor god in ancient Egyptian religion, depicted as a dwarf with a large head, goggle eyes, protruding tongue, bowlegs, bushy tail, and usually a crown of feathers (depicted here left with smaller feminine counterpart Beset right)
The team used multiple analytical methods including spectroscopy, which involves studying the absorption and emission of light and other radiation by matter. In this image, the area marked in red is a large grain of the pottery sample. Those indicated in green are crystallized grains imbued with beta-carboline alkaloids derived from the wild rue plant
Pictured, optical images of the sample collected from vessel residues at varying magnifications. The sample is mostly small grains of different sizes and colour
But most disgustingly was the discovery of 'a high presence of human proteins within the residue', the team say in their study.
This suggests the 'deliberate addition of human fluids to the drink prepared for ritual purposes'.
'This includes fluids like breast milk, mucous fluids (oral or vaginal), and blood.'
One reason for drinking this concoction may have been to recreate the Myth of the Solar Eye, a significant event in Egyptian myth.
In the story, Bes stopped the wrath of bloodthirsty goddess Hathor by serving her an alcoholic beverage spiked with a plant-based drug.
'In the light of our results, it would be possible to infer that this Bes-vase was used for some sort of ritual of reenactment of what happened in a significant event in Egyptian myth,' the team say in their paper, newly published in Scientific Reports.
Until this analysis, experts had speculated that Bes mugs could have been used for sacred water, milk, wine or beer – making this bizarre cocktail something of a surprise.
According to the team, their study identifies all the chemical signatures of the liquid concoction contained in the Tampa Museum of Art's Bes mug for the first time.
This Bes mug - which has been recreated as a to-scale 3D replica - is available for the public to see at the Tampa Museum of Art in Tampa, Florida
The next step will be to carry out the same analyses on other Bes mugs, of which less than 15 exist, including those kept at the Allan Pierson Museum in Amsterdam.
These other Bes mugs, produced with the same mold used for the Tampa one, could show if there was 'one and only recipe' for this 'magical potion', Professor Tanasi told MailOnline.
The Tampa Bes mug – which is available for the public to see at the Tampa Museum of Art in Tampa, Florida – been recreated as a to-scale 3D replica.
'The 3D print can also be used for public outreach experiences with the public with visual impairments and cognitive disabilities,' Professor Tanasi added.
'Additionally, we were also able to calculate the amount of liquid that the original Bes mug contained, simply filling up with water the 3D print – about 90ml.'
