>WAS CANNABIS THE ORIGINAL INCENSE?
>In 2020, archeologists working on an eighth-century BC shrine at Tel Arad, 35 miles south of Jerusalem, made an incredible discovery. The shrine, which would have been part of the kingdom of Judah, contained two limestone altars in its inner sanctum. On these altars were black marks from where incense had been burnt. The marks on one altar contained traces of frankincense, a substance described as being used as incense in the Bible. The other contained traces of cannabis that had been burnt on top of dried animal dung. It’s one thing to wonder if the burning of cannabis had inspired the incense we’re familiar with today, but this archeo-chemical evidence moves this speculation into the realm of historical fact.