The cocktails were drunk from vessels bearing the head of the ancient deity Bes [Getty]
A 2,000-year-old Egyptian mug was used for drinking psychedelic cocktails containing alcohol and bodily fluids, a new study has found.
The study, conducted by University of South Florida professor Davide Tanassi, examined a Bes mug – a drinking vessel decorated with the head of Bes, an ancient deity associated with fertility, healing and protection.
The contents of a Bes mug have long been the subject of speculation among experts, with many believing they were used to hold sacred water.
By scraping the inner walls of the mug and conducting chemical and DNA analysis, Professor Tanasi and his team found traces of alcohol, psychedelic drugs and bodily fluids.
Professor Tanasi believes the cocktail, which was mixed with sesame seeds, grapes, liquorice and honey, was likely used in fertility rituals.
“For the first time, we were able to identify all the chemical signatures of the components of the liquid concoction contained in the Tampa Museum of Art’s Bes mug, including the plants used by Egyptians, all of which have psychotropic and medicinal properties,” Professor Tanasi said.
Study lead author Enrico Greco of the University of Trieste said the findings had for the first time “directly confirmed the use of psychedelics in ancient Egyptian rituals”.
“The identified substances would likely have induced dream-like visions, heightened meditative states, and possibly euphoria,” Greco told Newsweek. “These effects would have been ideal for rituals involving prophecy or spiritual transformation.”
The Bes mug used for the study was donated to the Tampa Museum of Art (TMA) in 1984.
“For a very long time now, Egyptologists have been speculating what mugs with the head of Bes could have been used for, and for what kind of beverage, like sacred water, milk, wine or beer,” said study author Branko van Oppen, curator of Greek and Roman art at the TMA, in a statement.
“Experts did not know if these mugs were used in daily life, for religious purposes or in magic rituals.”
