He was a Caucasian man and researchers believe he was probably a shaman of the Gushi culture, which hails from Turpan in northwestern China.

The team of scientists say the alkaline soil acted as a preservative, and the herb was still green, though it retained none of its typical odor.

"To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent," Russo told The Toronto Sun.

This ancient batch of marijuana was reported to have a fairly high content of THC, the main ingredient in cannabis. They said however that the sample was too old to determine a precise percentage.

This is not the first time historic marijuana has been discovered; other locations in the world include Egypt and other sites, but the pot stashed in this Chinese tomb is the oldest so far that could be thoroughly tested for its properties.