Improbability Foundation is delighted to have supported the ‘Origins of Consciousness’ underwater expedition in cooperation with the Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University and Underwater Archeology Unit of the Israeli Antiquities Authority in the Ashdod-Yam (Ashdod-by-the-Sea) area off the southern coast of Israel.

‘Origins of Consciousness’ took place between the 15th and 30th of August, 2022. The goal of the expedition was to search for and explore the ancient shipwrecks in the Ashdod-Yam coastal areas in depths from 5 to 1000 metres using а U-Boat Navigator research vessel, equipped with a Triton 3300 submarine, Multibeam sonar, and other modern underwater search and exploration equipment.

One of the major research objectives of the project was to discover more about how and why entheogenic substances have been used in ancient cultures in order to understand how they may have influenced the evolution of both collective and individual consciousness.

Both from the team's existing academic and practical experience, and also from scientific and historical literature, it is known that ‘organic’ substances can survive very well for thousands of years in an underwater environment, especially if they are covered in certain types of sediment, or if they are located in an anaerobic environment at depths of several hundred metres or more.

Over the past decade, some exceptionally strong winter storms have removed sand layers, occasionally exposing the remains of sunken ships and cargoes. Increasing evidence of the presence of ancient shipwrecks and cargoes have been reported by fishermen and recreational divers in this area, with sightings of amphorae and other pottery, different types of anchors and other maritime artefacts. The same holds true for many coastal facilities located on the narrow coastal strip of land.

Historical sources and archaeological evidence suggest that Ashdod-Yam's original ‘raison d'être’ was affiliated with the sea, as it was an integral part of an extensive Mediterranean coastal network. Unlike many other Israeli coastal sites, no systematic underwater research has been carried out to date in the sea off Ashdod-Yam, and so the expedition sought to identify a number of shipwrecks in the area near the ancient port.

Our underwater expedition specifically focused on locating ritual and other culturally significant items that might contain traces of psychoactive alkaloids with a view to holistically exploring and connecting a variety of archaeological remains from the both shallow and deep submerged landscapes to similar archaeological remains located on the land and near the shore.

In addition to conducting typical archaeological work of dating and identifying the origins of the specific wrecks and items, a targeted residue analysis of the ceramic samples found in the wrecks was performed in order to identify the organic substances that have been present in those vessels, cups or amphoras at the time of the wrecks.

Through investigating ancient ritual items that might contain traces of entheogens, we intend to discover more evidence about how these substances could have been used for various ceremonial and healing purposes, and learn more about how they might have influenced the development of not only their societies, but also their myths and religions.