Evidence of the intentional use of black henbane in the Roman Netherlands

> When the bone was cleaned during zooarchaeological analysis, the plug fell out [..]. Approximately two-thirds of the seeds were lost in the process [..]

Oh, oopsie-daisy..!

erowid entry for black henbane: https://erowid.org/plants/henbane/

"A very dangerous creature. Lets play with it".

typical primate behavior

> two-thirds of the seeds were lost

Dam. Those seeds would be enough to kill a few toddlers or trigger a lot of aborts.

> The recent (2017) discovery of a sheep/goat bone that had been hollowed out, sealed on one side by a plug of a black material and filled with hundreds of black henbane seeds provides an opportunity to gain new insight into the historical use of this species.

> ..Black henbane is indigenous to Europe and Asia and belongs to the Solanaceae family — the nightshades.

> We compare the finds of black henbane with other useful plant species that are relatively uncommon in archaeobotanical assemblages in the Netherlands: deadly nightshade (Atropa bella-donna, medicinal/psychoactive), black horehound (Ballota nigra, medicinal), common St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum, medicinal), motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca, medicinal), white horehound (Marrubium vulgare, medicinal), catmint (Nepeta cataria, medicinal), dyer's rocket (Reseda luteola, artisanal), wild mignonette (Reseda lutea, medicinal) and vervain (Verbena officinalis, medicinal, symbolic).

> In medieval texts, magical or ritual properties are ascribed to black henbane alongside its medicinal function. In their compendium of ritual plants in Europe, De Cleene and Lejeune describe (post-)medieval sources in which the plant is used to evoke rain, summon demons and attract game. It is also noted as an ingredient in witches’ potions because of its psychoactive and hallucinogenic properties.