Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman TimesMilne, John Stewart
History
Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times
Milne, John Stewart
Surgery -- History; Surgical instruments and apparatus
Among the instruments of the surgeon of Paris was a box which Deneffe
regards as a portable unguentarium. Unlike the medicament boxes it is not
divided into compartments and the lid lifts off instead of sliding in
grooves. It is 83 mm. long, 45 wide, and 35 deep. A line running round the
middle of the box divides it into two equal parts and shows the division
between cover and box. On the top is a little ring attached by a little
pyramidal eminence 1·5 cm. high by which the cover was lifted off. Several
circular ointment boxes, some containing medicaments, are to be seen in
the Naples Museum.
_Collyrium Boxes._
A large number of cylindrical boxes containing sticks of medicament have
been found in Pompeii. In the find of the oculist of Rheims there were
five cylindrical boxes, all of the same size and shape. They were 14 cm.
long and 12 mm. in diameter. The covers are 35 mm. high. In them were the
remains of sticks of collyria which they had contained. The term collyrium
includes in classical writings not only liquid but also solid
applications. Collyria were often moulded into sticks for portability, and
liquefied with water, wine, white of egg, &c., as required. These boxes
which have come down to us are exactly similar to the case shown in Pl.
LIII, but they are on a smaller scale.
_Slabs for preparation of Ointment._
In the Roman provinces small rectangular slabs are occasionally found
which have evidently been used for rubbing medicaments upon. Some have
also their edges worn by the sharpening of scalpels. As they are rarely of
the stone of the country in which they are found they have evidently been
manufactured in Italy and carried by their owners on their travels. They
are rather rare. There are two in the museum at Naples. One was discovered
in Herculaneum which is 13 cm. long and 8 cm. broad. A cylindrical
instrument case is adherent to it. The edges are bevelled on its upper
surface. One of similar size and shape, but made of white marble, was
found in the grave of the surgeon of Paris. It shows by the hollowing out
of one of its edges that it has been used for sharpening scalpels.
There are two in the Archaeological Museum at Namur. They are of black
marble. They measure 11 cm. by 7·5, but a bevelling of ·75 cm. all round
reduced the top surface to 9·5 cm. by 6. One of these was found along with
surgical instruments in a second-century cemetery at Wancennes near Namur.
There is one of a dark-coloured stone in the museum at Chesters,
Northumberland. A small specimen of my own is shown in Pl. LII, fig. 4.
Similar small slabs, engraved with oculists' names and the names of drugs
to serve as seals, have been found in considerable numbers, but these
oculists' seals have already an extensive literature of their own.
_Boxes for Drugs._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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