Ancient Milan Crypt Reveals 17th Century Cocaine Use, Reshaping European Drug Trade History

In a ground-breaking discovery in 2019, Gaia Giordano, a graduate student at the University of Milan, unearthed a hidden chapter in the history of European drug trade within the vaulted crypt of a 16th-century hospital in Milan. The crypt, which served as a burial ground for impoverished individuals seeking aid at the Ca’ Granda hospital, revealed a chilling sight of a floor scattered with human bones.

Unveiling a Century-Old Secret

While analyzing the skulls and brain tissue of nine individuals buried there during the 1600s, Ms. Giordano and her team made a groundbreaking find: Two individuals exhibited evidence of cocaine use, predating the isolation of the drug from the coca plant by over 200 years.

Pioneering Research Impacting History

This landmark finding, published in the October issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, not only reshapes the timeline of cocaine use in premodern Europe but also challenges previously held perceptions of drug trade and consumption during that era.