Interesting Discovery

2,800-Year-Old Cannabis Seeds Found in a Siberian Burial Mound

In southern Siberia, at the Tunug 1 site in the Uyuk Valley, archaeologists have found more than 1,000 cannabis seeds. They were discovered in a burial mound 140 meters in diameter, linked to the Scythians, which has been excavated since 2017. In human hair preserved in the grave, researchers found cannabinol (CBN), a breakdown product of THC, and weaker traces consistent with THC. According to a study published in Science on November 5, this appears to be the earliest direct evidence of psychoactive use of cannabis. Jino Caspari, an archaeologist at the University of Bern, says the seeds were most likely placed in the grave deliberately. The Greek historian Herodotus described Scythian cannabis smoke, although the researchers cannot claim whether the cannabis in the grave was smoked or consumed in some other way.

Not covered in Armenian media (checked 11 November)