Excavators dig up mystery Roman pot on Teesside - and it could contain burnt cannabis seeds

[Joolz]

Green Man Archaeology say lab results on the seeds from Saltholme are expected imminently

 

A staff member with the Roman pot and (inset) the small pot with mystery seeds still intact (Image: Green Man Archaeology)

 

 

Archaeologists on Teesside are set to find out whether plant remains recovered from a Roman pot contain cannabis seeds.

 

During the Covid lockdown, Green Man Archaeology was called in to monitor groundwork at an energy-generating facility between Saltholme Nature Reserve, north of Port Clarence, and Cowpen Bewley, in Billingham. Previous work on the site had found evidence from the Romano-British period - enclosures containing settlement and agricultural activity.

 

Two human burials had already been found - with teams prepared for even more or the possibility of a cemetery. But then came the discovery of a small Roman pot containing mystery burnt seeds. The beaker was immediately sent to a laboratory for testing - and teams are now waiting to find out if the seeds could be positively identified as hemp.

 

It is thought that if the seeds found in the small jar at Saltholme are confirmed to be cannabis, then they might have been heated and the smoke inhaled, possibly as part of a Roman funeral ritual.

 

The pot was found with other Roman pottery during the excavation of the second of two areas, alongside a disintegrated fragment of a scapula, or shoulder blade. The Roman pottery found was identified as being made in Oxfordshire, the Nene Valley, and closer to Teesside at Huntcliff, where there was previously a Roman signal station.

Green Man Archaeology at work on the site at Saltholme (Image: Green Man Archaeology)

As part of the next process, findings from the project are typically sorted, cleaned, and sent to specialists for assessments. But the potential cannabis find meant the beaker was not washed along with the other pottery sherds and was instead sent for analysis.

 

It is believed that Cannabis was known by the Romans, with its use mentioned as early as the second and first centuries BC for its medical use and industrial purposes, such as making hemp ropes.

Cannabis growing in England is not thought to have started until around 400 - so it is unknown whether the first cannabis growers in England were the last Roman Britons or new Anglo-Saxons, Green Man Archaeology explains.

 

Lab results on the seeds from Saltholme are expected imminently.

 

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/excavators-dig-up-mystery-roman-28979537

 

[latigid aikon]

They look too big to me.

14 minutes ago, Joolz said:

It is thought that if the seeds found in the small jar at Saltholme are confirmed to be cannabis, then they might have been heated and the smoke inhaled,

Whoever wrote that should try smoking a bowl of cannabis seeds

[Saddam]

Grape seeds imho. 

[BilgePump]

My money is on something fabaceae.