Cannabis found at important religious site

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Archeologists have discovered cannabis residue at an ancient Jewish temple in Israel

Modern times have introduced cannabis to people as a bad substance that needed to be prohibited, but the fact is that it has been used for thousands of years across many civilizations. Thinking about putting drugs and religion together might outrage some, but, based on a recent discovery by Israeli archaeologists, cannabis could have been used in ancient religious ceremonies. Cannabis resin found in a southern Israeli temple could be the first piece of evidence that the ancient Jewish religion used hallucinogens in their rituals.

According to this research paper, the authors claimed to have discovered an eighth-century BC shrine at Tel Arad, which is where the old cannabis was found. This proof of mind-altering substances being used by cultic rituals in Judah could have been used even in the first Jewish Temple that stood in Jerusalem. In the ’60s, an archaeological excavation discovered, around 35 miles away from the city, a stronghold that used to belong to the ancient kingdom of Judah, which has a lot of similarities to the temple in Jerusalem mentioned in the bible.

Two limestone altars from the shrine’s inner sanctum contained some black deposits that, for decades, couldn’t be identified. Now, Israel’s Hebrew University and Technion Institute conducted a chemical analysis and found one psychoactive compound that is present in marijuana. Also, the same deposit had traces of frankincense, which was used for incense sacrifice in the ancient Jewish Temples, according to the Bible.

Since there was no evidence of pollen or seeds anywhere in the area, researchers believe that cannabis might have been brought from long distances and possibly in the form of resin, known as hashish. Based on the same chemical analysis, these traces seemed to be on top of dried animal dung.