Resting atop two limestone altar located at the entrance of Israel ’s “ holy of holies ” shrine are the black residual corpse of cannabis and frankincense , indication that the herbs play an important role in the cult practices of the shrine more than 2,000 years ago .
Arad shrine at Tel Arad in the Beer - sheba Valley was first excavated half - a - century ago and has since revealed two fortresses that guarded the southern border of the Kingdom of Judah . Between the 6th and 9th century BCE , this region of modern Israel was at the marrow of manybiblical accountsof the ancient world . According to finding issue in the journalTel Aviv , it seem that the cannabis may have been used deliberately as a psychoactive to “ hasten ecstasy as part of cultic ceremony . ” The cannabis was mixedwith animal BM to aid heating , while the gum olibanum was conflate with animal fat to encourage evaporation .
" This is the first prison term that ganja has been identified in the Ancient Near East ; Its use in the shrine must have play a central function in the cultic rituals performed there , ” said lead study writer Eran Arie , from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem , in astatement .
To come to their conclusions , the researchers collected pocket-sized samples of black cloth previously plant on each of the Lord’s table and direct an analysis of the substances back in the lab . Each sample was ground to a powder in a porcelain mortar and stamp to distil lipids indicative of its substance .
The smaller altar was shown to contain cannabidiol ( CBD ) and THC ( THC ) as well as its by-product cannabinol ( CBN ) , all of which are only rule in cannabis plant . get the activated THC and CBD on top of the altar suggests that cannabis was burned in the communion table “ conceivably as part of a rite that take place in the shrine , ” drop a line the author .
Located on the larger of the two altars is the residue of frankincense , which is aboriginal to Arabia , suggesting that the ancient the great unwashed of Judah likely trade with Arabia earlier than previously thought . At Arad , it supply the earliest evidence of the resin for cult role and supports historical mention of frankincense reflected in the Bible where “ its price is compared several times with that of gold and precious stones . ” Together , the cannabis and olibanum residue represents the first incense from Iron Age Judah that have been successfully examined and – though the use of plant textile for psychoactive or fragrant aim is not new to the neighborhood – they aid illuminate cult practices in biblical Judah .
