A team of researchers from Florida and Italy recently discovered trace amounts of a hallucinogenic mixture in an ancient Egyptian drinking cup in the Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection. The cup depicts the god Bes, who was regarded as the family protector of mothers, babies, and children during pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy, and was believed to ward off predators, disease, and evil spirits.
The Bess mug, which measures four and a half inches tall, was donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984 along with 45 other ancient Egyptian objects from the David S. Hendrick III collection. Preliminary dating dates back to the 2nd century BC. The work is currently on display as part of a museum exhibition preludeand a three-dimensional virtual model created by University of South Florida (USF) researchers can be viewed online.
University of South Florida professor and contributing researcher Davide Tanasi was conducting residual sampling of various antiquities when Branko van Oppen de Ruiter, the museum’s Greek and Roman Art curator and co-author of the study) provided services to the museum’s collection when he suggested they provide services to the museum’s collection. Focus on the Bes mug. In a presentation on the team’s findings, Van Oppen-Druit explained that scholars have long speculated on the purpose of these vessels – whether medicinal, ritual, culinary or everyday use.
Various chemical, DNA and spectroscopic tests on the organic residue scraped from the inside of the cup yielded evidence of wheat, sesame and yeast, suggesting it likely contained fermented liquid, possibly an early version of beer. Tests also found trace amounts of pine nuts or pine nut oil derivatives, chemicals found in grapes or pomegranates, proteins found in honey (or royal jelly), and acids prevalent in licorice root.
No matter how interesting the cocktail sounds so far, the ancient Egyptians took it even further. Pharmacological compounds detected include a hallucinogenic plant called Syrian rue or hamel (Camel Puff), is known to cause dreamlike hallucinations, act as an analgesic, and has a documented history of inducing labor and being used as a natural abortifacient. According to researchers, the plant is called they still The ancient Egyptians interpreted it as the “bess plant”.
Trace samples of blue water lily, also known as Egyptian lotus (although not actually part of the lotus family), known for its mild, intoxicating and sedative properties, were also detected. In a lecture on the discovery, van Oppen de Ruiter suggested that the water lilies may have been the plants of Homer’s mythical “lotus eaters.” Odyssey continue to exist.
The researchers also tested human blood, human breast milk, and mucosal fluids (unspecified whether they were oral or vaginal fluids).
“Maybe now you can understand why so many flavors are added, because some of the ingredients don’t taste very good,” van Oppen de Ruiter thinks.
The researchers concluded that cocktails containing human body fluids were less suitable for daily drinking and more likely to be used during holiday celebrations or rituals that might center on fertility and childbirth or divine inspiration.
“Religion is one of the most fascinating and puzzling aspects of ancient civilizations,” Tanasi said in a press statement about the discovery. “Through this study we have found scientific evidence that Egyptian mythology has some authenticity, which helps us understand little-known rituals that may have been performed in the Bess Room at Saqqara near the Great Pyramid of Giza ”
