Opiate traces discovered in Cyprus vessel

FOR the first time ever, researchers have found traces of opiates in a Cypriot vessel dating from the late Bronze Age.

The findings by researchers from the University of York and the British Museum contradict earlier claims that the vessels contained no opium but perfumed oils, something that was reported by the scientific journal Antiquity in 2016.

Vessels of this type, known as basering juglets, have long been thought to have links with opium use because when inverted they resemble the seed head of the opium poppy.

They are known to have been widely traded in the eastern Mediterranean between 1650BC and 1350BC.

Initial analysis by scientists at the British Museum showed that the juglet residue was mostly composed of a plant oil but hinted at the presence of opium alkaloids.

The Cyprus-made vessel they investigated was sealed, allowing the contents to be preserved, allowing for a good chance to find out exactly what it contained, and it was not just perfume.

To discover this, a new method was used to detect the substance, developed by Rachel Smith as part of her PhD studies at the University of York.

“The particular opiate alkaloids we detected are ones we have shown to be the most resistant to degradation, which makes them better targets in ancient residues than more well-known opiates such as morphine,” she said.

“We found the alkaloids in degraded plant oil, so the question as to how opium would have been used in this juglet still remains. Could it have been one ingredient amongst others in an oilbased mixture, or could the juglet have been re-used for oil after the opium or something else entirely?”

Dozens of similar clay vases which have been found at sites in Syria and Egypt are believed to have been made in Cyprus at the time and transported to other countries.

Heroin, morphine, and other opiates trace their origins to a single plant, the opium poppy. Cultivation of the plant dates back to the earliest years of human civilisation, and opium use was well known in ancient times. The earliest reference to opium use and the cultivation of opium poppies comes from Mesopotamia around 3400BC. The narcotic drug has been used both recreationally and as a medicine for centuries.