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Researchers Identify Psychedelic Cocktail in Ancient Egyptian Mug

Traces of psychotropic plant matter, human bodily fluids, honey, wheat, yeast, and licorice were detected in a vessel depicting the god Bes.

by Rhea Nayyar 25 minutes agoDecember 17, 2024

The Tampa Museum of Art’s Bes drinking vessel, donated to the institution in 1984 from the collection of late David S. Hendrick III (image courtesy the Tampa Museum of Art)

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“Religion is one of the most fascinating and puzzling aspects of ancient civilizations,” Tanasi said in a press statement about the findings. “With this study, we’ve found scientific proof that the Egyptian myths have some kind of truth and it helps us shed light on the poorly understood rituals that were likely carried out in the Bes Chambers in Saqqara, near the Great Pyramids at Giza.”

1984-032-6-1-1200x1800 — (a) Drinking vessel in shape of Bes head; El-Fayūm Oasis, Egypt; Ptolemaic-Roman period (4th century BCE − 3rd century CE), (courtesy of the Tampa Museum of Art, Florida). (b) Bes mug from the Ghalioungui collection, 10.7 × 7.9 cm (Ghalioungui, G. Wagner 1974, Kaiser 2003, cat. no. 342). (c) Bes mug inv. no. 14.415 from the Allard Pierson Museum, 11.5 × 9.3 cm (courtesy of the Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam; photo by Stephan van der Linden). (d) Bes mug from El-Fayum, dimensions unknown (Kaufmann 1913; Kaiser 2003, cat. no. 343). (images courtesy the researchers)

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