A team of archaeologists led by Dr. Maaike Groot from Freie Universität Berlin has provided the first firm evidence that the Romans deliberately collected and used the poisonous seeds of the black henbane plant. The team analyzed seeds found in a hollowed bone discovered at the Roman-period settlement of Houten-Castellum in the Netherlands and compared them to other archaeological occurrences of the plant. The results of the study were published in the journal Antiquity ( https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.5 ).
The team’s findings support the accounts of classical writers such as Pliny the Elder, who discuss the plant’s medical applications as a remedy for ailments, including fever, cough, and pain. ...
