How would you prepare for battle? If you were a Germanic warrior from northern Europe during Roman times, you may have inhaled some narcotics.
A team of three Polish researchers, including archaeologist Andrzej Kokowski and two biologists from Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, has suggested that Germanic peoples of northern Europe living outside the Roman Empire used stimulants during the war. Their findings, detailed in a Nov. 26 report study published in the magazine De Gruyterchallenges the idea that only Mediterranean civilizations used narcotics in ancient times.
Although archaeological and historical sources attest that the ancient Greeks and Romans consumed narcotics such as opium, according to the study, there is no clear evidence to suggest that their contemporaries also engaged in this consumption (the ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, drank psychedelics). ). This has led many scholars to conclude that the Germanic tribes, sometimes referred to by the antiquated term barbarians (the ancient Greek and Roman name for all foreigners)—they did not use stimulants other than alcohol.
“Therefore, we asked whether stimulant consumption did not really exist in the barbarian world of Roman times,” the researchers wrote in the study. Since there was no direct evidence, “they decided to look for indirect clues.”
Such clues came in the form of 241 small objects attached to warriors’ belts at 116 archaeological sites from the Roman period (roughly 7th century BC to 5th century AD) in northern Europe, including present-day Germany, Scandinavia and Poland. The objects are spoon-shaped artifacts with handles mostly between 1.57 and 2.76 inches long (40 and 70 millimeters) and small flat bowls or discs 0.39 to 0.78 inches wide (10 to 20 millimeters). Archaeologists unearthed them among other war-related artifacts.
Consequently, archaeologist Andrzej Kokowski and his colleagues hypothesized that Germanic warriors may have used spoon-shaped objects to take stimulants to increase effort and reduce stress before charging into battle. Essentially, just another version of liquid courage.
“Warriors could have used these objects to measure the correct dose to produce the desired effects and reduce the possibility of an overdose,” the researchers wrote in a De Gruyter. statement.
To bolster this theory, the team looked at possible stimulants that Germanic tribes might have accessed locally or through trade during Roman times. The possible list includes poppy, hemp, hops, nightshade, henbane and numerous mushrooms, all of which could have been taken in liquid or powder form, and may also have been used for medicinal and/or ritual purposes, according to the study.
“The use of agitation stimulants may have been much greater than assumed,” the researchers wrote in the study. They also suggested that the inhabitants of northern Europe must have significant knowledge and organizational skills to obtain and distribute the types and quantities of substances needed. Furthermore, demand for stimulants could have stimulated wartime economies (pun intended) during this period in previously unknown ways.
In the end, Polish researchers put forward a fascinating hypothesis about the possible use of stimulants by Germanic peoples when going into battle. After all, I wouldn’t say no to an extra boost if I were expected to face a Roman legionary soldier.