The use of opium in antiquity

Opium may be best known from the mid-19th-century Opium Wars in China. More recently, it was associated with Afghanistan, which provided nearly the entire world's production of opium, that is, until the Taliban decided in 2022 that it went against their religious beliefs. 

New in this context, however, is to learn that opium was a common good in ancient Egypt! 

[Picture from Phys.org ]

Researchers from the Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program (YAPP) studied the organic residues found on or within ancient vessels, providing insight into the diets and lifestyles of ancient people. 

A close examination of an Egyptian alabaster vase revealed traces of opiates that proved the use of opium in antiquity. This vase carries an inscription in four languages Akkadian, Elamite, Persian, and Egyptian. It is dedicated to King Xerxes I of Persia (486-465 BC), who had conquered Egypt in his expansion wars both westwards and eastwards. Inscriptions on vessels are very rare in ancient Egypt, as fewer than ten examples are known worldwide. This particular vase, 22 centimeters tall, holds a second text in Demotic, a simplified form of Egyptian, indicating that it had a capacity of 1.2 liters. 

The presence of opium has led to further investigation, indicating that far more alabaster vessels contained traces of opiate than expected, including those recovered from the Tomb of Tutankhamun. During its discovery in 1922, Howard Carter had noted the presence of a dark brown, sticky, aromatic substance inside the vessels without being able to identify it. Obviously, it was not some kind of perfume or unguent, but a product important enough to accompany the pharaoh into the afterlife. 

Modern researchers concluded that opium was used well beyond medicinal purposes, as mentioned by Hippocrates (see: A healthy mind in a healthy body – in early antiquity) and Galen (see: Hello? Dr. Galen?). It played a clear ritual role in many cultures, reaching from Mesopotamia to the Aegean. The earliest discovery of opiate residues was made in a merchant’s family tomb in Sedment, south of Cairo, dating back to before the 11^th century BC. 

It is amazing that a full century after its discovery, Tutankhamun’s Tomb has not yet revealed all its secrets and presently helps to clarify the role of opium in antiquity.