Experts from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that in the area of Turfan depression in Northwest China they had discovered a rather unusual ancient tomb. The main feature of the burial was the fact that the skeleton of the deceased person was covered with hemp. As the researchers suggest, this plant could play a role in the burial ritual.
As reported by study leader Hunan Jian, the skeleton belonged to a Caucasoid male, whose age at the time of death was about 35 years old. The man, whose remains have been discovered by specialists, lived approximately 2 500 — 2 800 years ago. The remains lay on a special deck, under the head was placed a bed of reeds, and the whole body from the pelvis to the skull was covered by a kind of shroud made of hemp: thirteen germs of plants, the length of many of which almost reached meters, was laid out in a special way — the roots of some of these plants were under the pelvis of a person in the chin, and so on. In addition to the stalks of cannabis sativa, the scientists found in the tomb of such plants as barley, wormwood, green foxtail and Russian Barbarum.
The area where it was discovered a burial, is an ancient cemetery, and today there are about 240 graves in the area. As the researchers note, some of the nearby graves they have found seeds or cannabis leaves.
Two and a half millennia ago, people knew that hemp includes psychoactive substances, however, have used this plant for many purely domestic purposes — from her twisted clothing and rope, from seed received nutritious oil, and the herb used in medicine. New data indicate that in certain cultures, hemp, and had some ritual significance.