An upcoming study will reportedly reveal key findings from a hollowed-out animal bone that is believed to have been used to transport seeds from a plant known to be medicinal, hallucinogenic and potentially deadly.
The nearly 2,000-year-old femur bone is thought to belong to either sheep or goat and was hollowed out in such a way that it was able to transport black henbane, according to the study, which will be published in the April edition of the journal Antiquity. Black henbane is a type of highly poisonous plant, which also boasts medicinal and psychoactive properties despite being part of the nightshade family, Live Science noted.
Henbane’s use dates back to at least the time Romans ran the Netherlands, and macrofossils of the plant have been found at numerous archaeological sites, the study noted. It’s believed, through some evidence, that the plant was used for its psychoactive properties and was “understood and exploited by people.”
NEW Painkiller or pleasure? Black henbane seeds discovered in a hollowed bone provide the first conclusive evidence for the intentional use of the poisonous plant in the Roman world.
Strap in for a hallucinogenic #AntiquityThread 🧵 1/13
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— 🅰ntiquity Journal (@AntiquityJ) February 8, 2024
“The find is unique and provides unmistakable proof for the intentional use of black henbane seeds in the Roman Netherlands,” lead study author Maaike Groot said in a statement. (RELATED: House Agrees To Fund Psychedelic Research For Vets With PTSD)
The most recent discovery of its use is unique, in that the seeds of the plant were found in a deliberately designed container (the femur bone), which was hollow on one side and purposefully plugged on the other to stop the seeds from escaping. It somewhat suggests this is the first known method of potentially illegal drug trafficking.
Unfortunately, as everyone from this time period is dead, there’s no way to fully comprehend the social capital of black henbane. Author and naturalist Pliny the Elder suggested the seeds of the plant caused “insanity and giddiness,” and implied the seeds were not a recreational tool. But can we ever really know for sure?