Opium Use in Ancient Egypt: Alabaster Vase Residue Points to Widespread Use

Opium may have been a daily habit for Ancient Egyptians

Ancient Egyptians may have used opium a lot. Based on recent examinations, archaeologists now say the drug may even have been a near-daily recreational habit. Opium might have even been widely used across socio-economic classes as long as 3,000 years ago. The evidence is detailed in a study recently published in the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology, and offers a glimpse into the daily lives of regular Egyptians and royalty alike.  “O…

Opium use in ancient Egypt: Alabaster vase residue points to widespread use

Examination of an ancient alabaster vase in the Yale Peabody Museum's Babylonian Collection has revealed traces of opiates, providing the clearest evidence to date of broad opium use in ancient Egyptian society, according to a new study by the Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program (YAPP).

New discovery suggests opium use in ancient cultures, from Xerxes to King Tut

A new Yale study finds chemical traces of opium ancient Egyptian alabaster vase, suggesting that opiate use was more common in ancient Egyptian culture than previously thought.

Analysis of Egyptian alabaster vessel reveals widespread opium use from Xerxes to King Tut

A new analysis of an inscribed alabaster vase from the Yale Babylonian Collection has produced the strongest scientific evidence to date that opium played a wider role in ancient Egyptian life than was previously known. The study, conducted by the Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program (YAPP), found multiple chemical markers of opiates inside the 2,500-year-old vessel, […]