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Researchers Find Many Small Metal Spoons With Traces of Opium, Say Barbarian Warriors Used Stimulants Before Battle

Experts located these spoons in the graves of important representatives of nomadic tribes.
PUBLISHED FEB 2, 2025
Chainmail and helmets lying on the ground (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Pixabay)
Chainmail and helmets lying on the ground (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Pixabay)

Archaeologists analyzed several Roman-era metal objects excavated from southern Scandinavia and concluded that soldiers from the period possibly indulged in stimulants. Researchers believe that these stimulants were made from plants and given to Germanic soldiers with instructions on how to use them during battles, stated Science in Poland. The metal artifacts in question were spotted in several sites between the Elbe and Bug rivers in Central Europe. Experts primarily focussed on the spoon-like objects they excavated from the marsh sites and graves in modern-day Scandinavia, Germany, and Poland. Findings regarding these objects have been published in the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift

Man Wearing a Warrior Costume (Representative Image Source: Pexels/Photo by Fernando Cortés)
Man wearing a warrior costume (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Fernando Cortés)

The spoon-like artifacts measured around 10 cm in length. In the past, researchers believed that the spoons were carried by soldiers for personal grooming and threading belts. Findings at the Caucasus site changed this assumption. Experts located these spoons in the graves of important representatives of nomadic tribes. These spoons were analyzed and were found to have opium residues on them. Researchers further noted that the size of the spoons made it more suitable for the consumption of psychoactive substances.

Most of these spoons were found with items of warfare, further solidifying their connection with battles for experts. Researchers believe these spoons were used to measure the substance by soldiers, ensuring that they were not overdosing on opium or similar stimulants. Experts think the stimulants could have been garnered locally or transported from afar. Germanic tribes had access to plants like poppy, belladonna, henbane, hops, hemp, and several fungi, as per the study. Scientists think stimulants in liquid or powdered form were created and supplied to soldiers using these plants. 



 

Considering the number of spoons located by archaeologists, researchers speculated that stimulant consumption must have been common amongst Germanic tribes. They believe it could have been a way for them to deal with the stress of continuous battles.

"Drug use by Germanic warriors must have been a common phenomenon. This is evident by the number of spoons discovered. We have estimated that in a 1,000-strong army, around 750 warriors took drugs," Professor Andrzej Kokowski, an archaeologist said. "Germanic warriors probably motivated themselves to fight by reaching for a spoon hanging from their belts, taking the substance from a bag attached to them, and using it like snuff. Wars were unending, so the army must have had kilograms of the substance with them, which required hundreds of kilograms of plants and dozens of people to produce. The widespread use of these substances indicates that they were as essential to the warriors as their weapons," he added.



 

The study also claims that apart from battles, these stimulants could have also been used for medicinal and ritualistic functions. "It seems that the awareness of the effects of various types of natural preparations on the human body entailed knowledge of their occurrence, methods of application, and the desire to consciously use this wealth for medicinal and ritual purposes," the researchers wrote. In this examination, researchers primarily focussed on areas associated with Germanic tribes, but they are not ruling out the use of psychoactive substances by other Barbarian tribes.

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