From mud homes in the deserts of Rajasthan to houses made only with old beer bottles — sustainable homes are the talk of the town these days, and so the materials that can be in their construction are endless — bamboo, straw bales, recycled plastic, cork, upcycled wood, and rammed earth, to name a few. 

One material often left out of the conversation is cannabis. But that changes now. 

If you’ve ever had the chance to visit the Ellora Caves in the Mumbai Harbour — around 10 km east of the main city — you’d recall marveling at the magnificent complex of rock-cut caves with artwork dating back to 1000 CE, stepping into the cool, hearing the steady drip of water somewhere in the distance, and gaping at the fact that after all these decades, the formations have stood the test of time. 

The reason, as has now been found, is the cannabis in the architecture. 

Archaeology experts shared a sense of intrigue since time immemorial about the sheer existence of the UNESCO World Heritage Site the Ellora caves. How were they in such good condition? Was it a special kind of rock that served as the foundation? Were there ancient principles of architecture? 

The answer, as was revealed in a study in 2016, lies in a mixture of hemp with clay and lime plaster. This simple mix has preserved the 1,500-year-old caves from being degraded.

The duo behind this discovery were Rajdeo Singh, a former superintendent archaeological chemist of the Archaeological Survey of India’s science branch (western region), and Milind M Sardesai, who........

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