Roman Pot Or Not? Archaeologists Find Mysterious Seeds At Excavation Site In England

Romans are known for having parties that were wild enough to make it into history books. That is thanks to the ancient historians who kept their pens, ink and papyrus ready at all times to record their impressions of Rome's celebrations such as the Bacchanalia and Dionysia. Festivals in honor of Bacchus, the Roman form of Greek Dionysus, the wine god, were celebrated with "dancing, song and revelry," says the Merriam-Webster dictionary. 

One cannot help but wonder whether cannabis was used on such occasions.

According to an article published in the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics in 2002, the earliest evidence of cannabis use in classical antiquity – the period during which ancient Greece and Rome flourished – is related to Herodotus' record of the hemp vapor baths used by the ancient Scythians who were ancient nomadic people originally from Iran. This indicates that cannabis was not known to the Greeks in the fifth century BCE. Fast-forward some five centuries and cannabis use in medicine was seen in Greece and Rome, according to records from Roman writer Pliny the Elder, according to the study, The Medical Use of Cannabis Among the Greeks and Romans.

Interestingly, recreational use of the cannabis seeds is described by the comic poet Ephippus in the 4th century BCE as well as in Galen in the second century CE.

"Ancient medical writers classified cannabis among foods with a warming effect, foods with a drying effect, foods that harm the head, foods that thin the humors, and foods that prevent flatulence. It was acknowledged to have an intoxicating effect not characteristic of the seed of the agnus-castus, which was sometimes prescribed in its place," according to the late James L. Butrica, the author of the article.

The Case Of Roman Cannabis Seeds

Ancient history aside, the latest and growing body of archaeological research is painting a somewhat different picture. During the excavations in northeastern England that took place during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020-2021, a Roman pot containing seeds that may be proven to be from the cannabis plant was found.

The intriguing finding was uncovered at the site of an energy-generating facility in the district of Stockton-on-Tees. Archaeologists from Green Man Archaeology were excavating a site featuring remains of settlement and agricultural activity from Britain’s Roman period.

The experts emphasized that even though the battered and burnt beaker originated from the valley of the River Nene, it was not washed like other pottery sherds at the site.

“Pottery finds are routinely washed before they are sent for analysis, but one of our staff had the presence of mind to notice something was different about the soil filling this pot, left it in situ, and sent it for analysis,” Jon Welsh with Green Man Archaeology told Newsweek.

While paleoethnobotanists are working diligently on defining whether seeds from the pot can be identified as cannabis, Welsh said the finding could be evidence of ritual or recreational use of cannabis in Britain’s Roman period which lasted from A.D. 43 to A.D. 410.

See also: Cannabis Discovered In 17th-Century Human Bones In Milan Hospital Crypt, First Evidence Of Ancient Weed Use