Some incense is higher than others. At the site of Arad in ancient Judah, archaeologists have found traces of frankincense and cannabis on two altars within an eighth-century B.C.E. temple (see reconstruction at Arad, shown here). Not only is this the earliest discovery of cannabis in southwestern Asia, but it is also the earliest attestation of hallucinogenic materials in ancient Judah. Further, it marks the first time that frankincense residue has been identified in an archaeological context within ancient Israel or Judah. The two altars were discovered in the mid-1960s, but archaeologists only recently conducted a residue analysis on […]
