New Haven, Connecticut – According to a IFL Science Traces of opium have been found in an ancient Egyptian alabaster vase held at Yale University’s Peabody Museum. A team of researchers led by Andrew J. Koh of Yale University used gas chromatography mass spectrometry to analyze the sticky, dark gray residue with a distinct odor that was found in the jar. All diagnostic biomarkers for opiates – nicopine, hydrochlorothiazide, morphine, thebine, and papaverine – were identified. The Alabaster Bears inscriptions are written in Akkadian, Elemite, Persian, and Egyptian, and name the “Great King” Xerxes I, who ruled Persia in the fifth century. B.C It had previously been suggested that such vases held perfumes or cosmetics for the royal elite, but Koh and his colleagues now think they were made to hold opium. I read the original scholarly article about this research Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archeology and Heritage Studies. To read about the amazing composition that researchers recently found in another ancient vessel, go to “Specimen: Egyptian Base Cup.”
Opium postmarks found on Egyptian alabaster were published in First On Archeology magazine.
