Were Roman Barbarians Doped ? These Curious Spoons Could Prove It

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Archaeological discoveries have shed new light on the martial practices of the Germanic peoples of the Roman era. The latter interacted with the Roman Empire for several centuries, mainly from the 1st century AD until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Sometimes to trade, but mostly to wage war. With the objects they left behind, the Germans have given us a wide-open window onto a supposed facet of their military strategy.

Miniature spoons, long enigmatic, potentially attest to the use of stimulant substances during their military campaigns. This is the work of a multidisciplinary team from the Marie Curie-Skłodowska University in Poland; published in the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift; who have just proposed this interpretation.

Archaeological remains bearing an unknown history

The excavation campaigns carried out in ancient Germanic territories – Scandinavia, present-day Germany and Poland – have allowed the unearthing of objects with unique characteristics: spoon-shaped instruments, the precise dimensions of which vary between 4 and 7 centimetres in length, with a circular receptacle measuring 1 to 2 centimetres in diameter.

Illustrations of spoons found in burials. © Jarosz-Wilkołazka et al., Praehistorische Zeitschrift

The analysis of 241 of these objects, from 116 separate sites, reveals a recurrence in their arrangement and context of use. These utensils, systematically attached to men's belts and without apparent function, present a frequent association with military equipment.

The systematic presence of these objects in warrior burials and sacrificial sites linked to martial activities could be a clue that would explain their use. This spatial and contextual correlation suggests a use closely linked to war practices, potentially as instruments for dosing and administering psychoactive substances.

« The presence of this object in the warrior's equipment suggests that the use of pharmacological substances to increase resistance to stress and fatigue was a widespread practice among fighters », the researchers explain in their study.

An ancestral practice inscribed in historical continuity

The use of psychoactive substances in a martial context is not surprising; it is even a centuries-old tradition, the most documented manifestations of which appear in the 20th century. The massive use of cocaine during the First World War, the systematic use of amphetamines and methamphetamines by both Axis and Allied forces during the Second World War are, today, no longer a secret.

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In more recent history60~/em>, 225 million stimulant pills (including Dexedrine) were distributed to American troops between 1966 and 1969 during the Vietnam War. Amphetamines, the drugs of choice at the time (and still today), were supposed to increase alertness, reduce fatigue, and improve soldiers' ability to concentrate for long periods of time. The current Russo-Ukrainian conflict is no exception, with some Russian troops being sent to the front under the influence of amphetamines as well. Military history is absolutely inseparable from the use of psychoactive substances even if this link is often minimized, or even hidden.

This diachronic perspective allows us to understand the Germanic archaeological remains from a new angle: the barbarians, as the Romans liked to call them, were perhaps under the influence during their battles. If this practice turned out to be real, they certainly had what they needed to do on hand.

Fictional depiction of a Germanic warrior inhaling an intoxicating substance using a spoon. © Stanisław Kontny/Praehistorische Zeitschrift

A rich natural pharmacopoeia

The natural environment of the Germanic territories offered a considerable pharmacological arsenal: mushrooms with psychotropic properties, Opium Poppy, Hops, Cannabis, Henbane, and various Solanaceae such as Belladonna and Datura, two plants containing delirogenic substances. On the other hand, it is impossible to know precisely which plant/substance was used.

Biologists Anna Jarosz-Wilkołazka and Anna Rysiak demonstrate that these peoples did not limit themselves to the simple consumption of alcohol, as traditional historiography supposed. If there was use, as this research suggests, of the substances mentioned above, this would imply a deep knowledge of their occurrence in their environment, their methods of application and their physiological effects.

If the hypothesis of the Polish researchers were ever confirmed; chemical and archaeological analyses are still lacking for this; these practices would resonate very logically with modern military history. As if humanity had never stopped searching in nature for the means to increase its capabilities in the face of the ultimate challenge of war.

• Germanic miniature spoons, measuring 4 to 7 cm, were systematically associated with military equipment and warrior burials.
• These spoons may have been used to measure and administer psychoactive substances before battles.
• Their recurring presence in martial contexts suggests that they were used in warlike practices.

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