Tiny spoon-shaped objects worn by Roman-era Germanic warriors may be evidence that they used stimulants on the battlefield. Archaeologists and biologists believe the suspicious circular fittings may have been used thousands of years ago to deliver drugs that gave warriors an advantage when facing off against their opponents, according to a new analysis of the mysterious artifacts and their context.

It is unknown what these drugs actually are; We would need to find some evidence of their existence, such as ruins, which can be a difficult task after thousands of years have passed. However, this concept is not unprecedented; and if confirmed, the team’s hypothesis could reveal evidence of drug use among cultures outside the Roman Empire.

This can be a big problem: While the use of drugs such as opium is well documented in Greece and Rome, the use of opiates and stimulants in ancient times outside this region remains a mystery. Historians assumed, at least until much later in history, that alcohol was the only drug used by barbarians.

Biologists Anna Jarosz-Wilkolazka and Anna Rysiak, as well as archaeologist Andrzej Jan Kokowski from Marie Curie-Skłodowska University in Poland, believed that the mysterious spoon-like objects could be evidence to the contrary.

These strange objects appear constantly in Roman-era cemeteries in the lands of modern Scandinavia, Germany and Poland. Its stems are 4 to 7 centimeters (1.6 to 2.8 in) long and have a cup or flat disk 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter at one end. They were mostly worn on men’s belts, but played no role in the functioning of the belt.

The team carefully examined these spoon-shaped objects, measured them, and examined how they were incorporated into the graves and the context in which they were buried. They cataloged 241 spoons from 116 sites and made some interesting observations.

One of the most telling was the frequent inclusion of spoons in military equipment. They were found at sites of military sacrifice, connecting them directly to the warriors; or with weapons.

“This allows us to put forward the thesis that these devices are a regular part of the warrior’s armor, and from this we can conclude that the pharmacological stimulation of warriors in the face of stress and tension is important,” the researchers write in their paper. order of the day.”

This is of course unheard of. Just a few examples: Large amounts of cocaine were used during World War I. During World War II, stimulants such as amphetamine and methamphetamine were widely used by both the Allies and the Axis powers. Between 1966 and 1969, 225 million stimulants, including the amphetamine Dexedrine, were issued to the US military. There are even reports of Russian soldiers using amphetamines during the war against Ukraine.

After confirming their thesis, the researchers examined materials available to Germanic barbarians that could potentially be used as stimulants. There were quite a few of these, including mushrooms, opium poppies, hops, hemp, belenum and nightshades like belladonna and dahlias.

It is unclear which of these plants were used by the tribes. But humans have a long history, going back thousands of years, of changing their experience of the world through drugs. It seems unlikely that the Germanic barbarians of the Roman period ever used drugs. If the team’s findings are confirmed, they will tell us more about how our ancestors lived.

“Awareness of the impact of various types of natural medicines on the human body appears to lead to knowledge of their origins, methods of application and the desire to consciously use this wealth for medicinal and ritual purposes,” the researchers write. “