In the 1990s, Spanish archaeologists at Mas Castellar de Pontus in Catalonia found ergot in a Demeter sanctuary — in a ceremonial vase and in dental plaque from a man aged ~25. In February 2026, Carl Ruck and colleagues published in Scientific Reports showing ergot boiled in wood ash lye for ~2 hours yields LSA (~0.5 mg/g) while breaking down toxic compounds. No human testing was done, and no ergot has ever been found in any Eleusis cup. 🧪
2026 experiment shows ancient method could produce LSA from ergot
Key facts
- In the 1990s, Spanish archaeologists excavated Mas Castellar de Pontus near a Greek trading colony in Catalonia and found ergot in a Demeter sanctuary, including in a ceremonial vase and in dental plaque on a man aged about 25
- In February 2026, Carl Ruck and colleagues published a paper in the journal Scientific Reports
- The team demonstrated that boiling ergot in wood ash lye (an ancient household substance) for about two hours at the right strength breaks down toxic compounds
- The process produced LSA, a substance from the same chemical family as LSD, at approximately 0.5 mg per gram of ergot
- No human or animal testing was conducted in the study
- No ergot has ever been identified in any cup recovered from Eleusis, and no one has been granted permission to test the site's finds
Sources
worldhistory.org
Linked in video description
hellenic.org.au
Linked in video description
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