First physical evidence: the Egyptians actually drank hallucinogenic drinks

The University of South Florida is the first in the world to document the presence of hallucinogens in a 2,400-year-old Egyptian vessel. It confirms ancient written records and myths about Egyptian rituals. Professor Davide Tanasi's study reveals the exact composition of the drink and its probable purpose.

The vessel was donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. It is decorated with the head of Bes, the many-faceted ancient Egyptian god - protector of mothers and children, healer and incantor of evil spirits. The cult of this god and the presence of vessels depicting him in various contexts have long provoked speculation about the original content and role in ancient Egyptian culture. Several theories about these vessels are based on mythology, but none have been thoroughly analysed.

"Egyptologists have speculated for a very long time about what the Bes headed cups might have been used for and what kind of drink - sacred water, milk, wine or beer?" said Branko van Oppen, curator of the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Tampa Museum of Art. "Experts didn't know whether these cups were used in everyday life, for religious purposes or in magical rituals," he added.

"There is no research that has ever discovered what we have published in this study," Professor Tanasi said. "For the first time ever, we were able to identify all the chemical signatures of the components of the liquid mixture contained in the Bes cup, including plants used by the Egyptians, all of which have psychotropic and medicinal properties."

The experts first scraped off the inner weak layer of pottery, which they then ground into a powder and then chemically analysed. The results revealed that the jar contained a cocktail of psychedelic drugs, bodily fluids and alcohol. According to Tanasi, it's a combination that was used in a magical ritual, apparently for fertility. The mixture was flavored with honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes, which were commonly used to make the drink look like blood.

"This research informs us about the magical rituals of the Greco-Roman period in Egypt. Egyptologists believe that people visited the so-called Bes Chambers in Saqqara to confirm a successful pregnancy, as in the ancient world it was often risky and fraught with danger. Thus, this combination of ingredients may have been used to induce a dreamlike vision in the context of this dangerous period of childbirth," the professor explained.

"Religion is one of the most fascinating and mysterious aspects of ancient civilizations," Tanasi added. "With this study, we have found scientific proof that Egyptian myths have some kind of truth, and it helps ourus to shed light on misunderstood rituals that were probably performed at Bes Chambers in Saqqara near the Great Pyramids of Giza," he added.

Professor Tanasi published the study as part of the Mediterranean Diet Archaeology Project with support from the USF Institute for Advanced Study of Culture and Environment. He collaborated with several researchers from the Universities of Trieste and Milan on the chemical and DNA analyses. The Bes vessel is now on display at the Tampa Museum of Art.

Roman Nemec

Sources: archaeology.org, nature.com, usf.edu

Link to the study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-78721-8

Vessel in the shape of Bes's head from the El-Fayūm oasis in Egypt

Professor Davide Tanasi with a 3D printed model of the vessel

original with 3D scan

3D scan of the Bes pot