How Bronze Age rulers got HIGH to predict the future:
Armenian shrines reveal bizarre practices of fortune tellers
3,300 years ago
By Ellie Zolfagharifard
Dailymail.com - 20/2/2015
Three Bronze Age shrines were recently found in Gegharot, Armenia
Pottery had traces of grape and substance similar to stimulant Ephedra
The shrines also contained the Bronze Age version of fortune cookies
Knuckles from sheep and cows were used a dice to predict the future
Shrines were used for a century until the area was destroyed by conflict
Three Bronze Age shrines that may have been used to predict the future have been discovered in
a hilltop fortress at Gegharot, Armenia.
Each of the 3,300-year-old shrines is made up of a single room holding a clay bowl filled with
smaller ash and ceramic artefacts.
Researchers suspect that, as part of an ancient ritual, local rulers would reach an altered state of
mind by drinking wine and burning substances.
Three Bronze Age shrines that may have been used to predict the future have been discovered in
a hilltop fortress at Gegharot, Armenia. The basin of the east citadel shrine is seen in this image.
In the three shrines archaeologists found evidence that animal bones, stone and flour
'Our best evidence of this comes from pollen washes,' Professor Adam Smith from Cornell
University told Dailymail.com.
'We take the pottery and wash with distilled water. We then capture the run off. From this we
found residues of grape, and something similar to Ephedra which is a stimulant.'
The shrine artefacts include clay idols, animal bones, stamp seals and containers used to burn
substances, according to a report by Owen Jarus in LiveScience.
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Archaeologists at Cornell University believe local rules used the knucklebones of cows, sheep
and goat as a type of dice to predict the future.
These bones were marked with burns and other engravings, and were small enough to roll.
In one shrine, researchers found 18 pebbles.
'These stones appear to have been selected for their smooth, rounded shape and their colour
palette, which ranged from black and dark grey to white, green and red,' writes Professor Adam
Smith, lead author of the study at Cornell University.
Researchers suspect that, as part of an ancient ritual, local rulers would reach an altered state of
mind by drinking wine and burning substances. The altar and basin of a shrine (the large,
fractured block) excavated on the fortress' east citadel can be seen in these two images
Researchers suspect that, as part of an ancient ritual, local rulers would reach an altered state of
mind by drinking wine and burning substances. Pictured is one of the shrines
On the left is a clay idol with hornlike protrusions, while the right image shows what is
considered another idol
But how exactly these unmarked stones would have been used in rituals is unknown. Professor
Smith suspects they may have been used in the same way as the knuckle bones.
Another shrine contained vessels used to grind flour. It may have been used to predict the future
in a ritual called aleuromancy.
THE BRONZE AGE IN ARMENIA
The Bronze Age in the Caucasus region can be divided into two parts - the Middle Bronze Age
from around 2,500 to 1500BC, and the Late Bronze Age from 1500 down to 900 BC.
The earlier part is famous for its rich burials from localised cultures. In the later Bronze Age a
far more homogenous culture came into being.
The Late Bronze Age also saw an increase in the number of hillforts sites. These had begun in
the Middle Bronze Age and reached their peak in the early Iron Age.
Aleuromancy was a practice in which messages would be baked inside of cakes or cookies,
which would then be distributed to those wishing their fortunes to be told.
'What is conspicuous about the grinding installation in the east citadel shrine is the lack of a
formal oven for bread baking,' Professor Smith writes.
The shrine's basin 'was clearly used for burning materials and certainly could have been used to
bake small balls of dough, but it is unlikely that it would have been used to cook loaves of bread.'
The stamps may have been used to seal messages within the dough.
During the time these shrines were active, a written form of language had not yet emerged in this
part of Armenia, and so there are no written records of its local rulers.
The shrines were in use for a century until the area was destroyed by conflict. The group that
controlled Gegharot was likely wiped out as a result.
'It doesn't appear to have been reoccupied,' said Professor Smith.
'It was probably attacked by one of its neighbours...but these practices probably went on in
neighboring areas.
'We're now trying to figure out what exactly happened to these ancient people.'
Archaeologists found two funnels (Figures A & B) ) that were used to burn substances at the
shrine site
Figures D and E show stamp seals that could have been used to stamp images on pieces of dough
before they were used for divination. This would have been the Bronze Age version of a fortune
cookie
Gegharot, where the three ancient shrines were uncovered, is a town in the Aragatsotn Province
of Armenia
The shrines were found close together at Gegharot. Workshops dedicated to metal, bone and
stone tool production were also found in this region
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2962179/How-Bronze-Age-rulersgot-HIGH-predict-future-Armenian-shrines-reveal-bizarre-practices-fortune-tellers-3-300-yearsago.html#ixzz3SPx7yt79