Excavations that have been conducted on Bathonea on the coasts of Küçükçekmece Lake in Istanbul’s Avcılar district have unearthed nearly 700 small ceramic or glass bottles containing antidepressant pills and heart disease drugs (from 620-640 CE),
“There were lots of pestles, mortars and a big cooker around these bottles. It seems that there was a drug production
center here. We also found lots of medical tools and spatulas,” said Associate Professor Şengül Aydıngün, the head of the
Bathonea excavations.
“The interesting part is that there are some plants on this field where we are working in winter. These plants are the core
of many drugs. The analysis of remnants in the bottles was made by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of
Turkey (TÜBİTAK). They got the formulas of two drugs; Methanone and Phenanthrene. One of them is an antidepressant
and the other is used in cases of heart diseases. The cores of these drugs were obtained from nearby plants. This is a very
good result for us,” she said.
Source: Ancient antidepressants found in excavations in Istanbul – ARCHAEOLOGY
Stannous Flouride's Book of Truthiness 