513412
513412

Mystery of the Cocaine Mummies

1996-09-08 en 50m
Documentary
The UK series Equinox brings us this investigation of a mystery that is baffling Egyptologists. The case calls into question whole areas of accepted scientific fact from botany, through chemistry to archaeology. In 1992, routine tests on a mummy in a Munich museum revealed high body levels of cocaine and nicotine. But such substances were not available in ancient Egypt, coming as they do from the Americas – not, apparently, to be “discovered” for thousands of years after the passing of the Egyptian dynasties. Are the mummies fakes; were the substances from plants that have since disappeared or were there, in fact, trade routes between Egypt and South America that predate accepted chronology?

Director

Sarah Marris

Writer

Sarah Marris

Status

Released

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Companies

  • Channel 4 Television