HEBRARIUM
Not proof.
A possibility preserved in ice.
In the frozen kurgans of the Altai Mountains, the so-called Princess Ukok was found preserved in ice: a young Pazyryk woman, tattooed, richly dressed, and buried with objects that speak of status, care and distance travelled.
Modern MRI scans added another layer to the story.
They suggested that she suffered from advanced breast cancer, with metastases, and earlier signs of serious bone disease. Her body was not only a preserved archaeological wonder. It was also the body of someone who had lived with pain.
Some reports connect her burial to cannabis and propose that the plant may have been used as part of pain relief, ritual practice, or altered-state work among the Pazyryk. That interpretation is powerful, but it should be handled carefully: the evidence around the specific plant material in her tomb is not always reported consistently.
For LIBERA HERBA, the trace matters because of the question it leaves behind.
Not “proof”. A possibility.A sick woman. A high-status burial.
A culture familiar
with plant smoke and altered states.
And the old human need
to carry something against pain.
Sometimes the Herbarium does not give certainty.
It preserves the question.
Factual Note
Princess Ukok, also known as the Siberian Ice Maiden, was a Pazyryk woman buried in a frozen kurgan in the Altai Mountains, usually dated to the 5th century BCE.
MRI studies reported signs of breast cancer with metastases, and some reports also mention osteomyelitis or earlier bone disease.
Several popular accounts connect her burial with cannabis and possible pain relief, but the identification of cannabis in this specific tomb should be treated cautiously unless supported by a primary archaeological source.
Princess Ukok / Siberian Ice Maiden
Pazyryk culture, Altai Mountains
c. 5th century BCE
A tattooed, high-status woman preserved in permafrost. Her burial became one of the most famous archaeological finds of the Altai region.
Later medical imaging suggested severe disease, opening debate around illness, ritual status, and possible plant-based pain relief.
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The VADEMECUM is not just a book anymore. It is becoming a living archive of guides, tools, notes and practical plant knowledge.
Free member access. Join early. Keep the archive open.
The VADEMECUM is becoming a living archive of practical plant knowledge.
Free member access.