Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad

Abstract

Two limestone monoliths, interpreted as altars, were found in the Judahite shrine at Tel Arad. Unidentified dark material preserved on their upper surfaces was submitted for organic residue analysis at two unrelated laboratories that used similar established extraction methods. On the smaller altar, residues of cannabinoids such as Δ⁹-teterahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) were detected, along with an assortment of terpenes and terpenoids, suggesting that cannabis inflorescences had been burnt on it. Organic residues attributed to animal dung were also found, suggesting that the cannabis resin had been mixed with dung to enable mild heating. The larger altar contained an assemblage of indicative triterpenes such as boswellic acid and norursatriene, which derives from frankincense. The additional presence of animal fat―in related compounds such as testosterone, androstene and cholesterol―suggests that resin was mixed with it to facilitate evaporation. These well-preserved residues shed new light on the use of 8th century Arad altars and on incense offerings in Judah during the Iron Age.

Keywords:

• Arad
• Cannabis
• Frankincense
• Incense offering
• Altar
• Iron Age
• Judah
• GC-MS

Acknowledgments

We thank Zvi Greenhut, Michael Sebbane and Debi Ben-Ami of the Israel Antiquities Authority for consenting to our sampling the two altars. We are thankful to Dafna Langgut of Tel Aviv University, for screening for pollen remains (negative results). We also thank Alon Amrani of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Dedi Meiri of the Technion for permission to use their GC-MS instrumentation and facilities. We wish to thank Hinanit Koltai and Einav Mayzlish Gati, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, for many fruitful discussions.

Notes

1 Former publications referred to this structure as a temple; due to its modest dimensions, we prefer to use the term ’shrine’.

2 The original furniture of the debir that was transferred to Jerusalem included the standing stone and the two altars. A stone slab made of flint was also displayed in the gallery; Aharoni interpreted it as a second standing stone positioned in the debir. However, in the new presentation of the debir the museum’s curators accepted Herzog’s (2002: 63) interpretation, and today the flint slab is incorporated into the back wall of the reconstructed debir. It might have been an old stele that was no longer used as a maṣṣebah in the later phase (Stratum IX) of the shrine.

3 Trade with South Arabia and even further probably began earlier, with evidence for this still accumulating (Gilboa and Namdar 2015).