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
Find of Sextus Polleius Sollemnis, oculist of Fonviel,
Saint-Privat-d'Allier. In levelling a heap of earth which had fallen from
a cliff above as the result of a landslide, there were found at Fonviel in
1864 a number of bronze surgical instruments. The place where they were
found is at the intersection of two old Roman roads, and the instruments
had been buried in the grave of a Roman surgeon high up above the valley
on the edge of a cliff. Eighteen coins of the reigns of Julia Augusta,
Trajan, Hadrian, Commodus, Gordian, Philip, Valerian, and Gallus, showed
that the interment had been made at the end of the third century. The
instruments found included three scalpel handles, fragments of two
forceps, and an oculist's seal in stone showing that the grave was that of
Sextus Polleius Sollemnis. Many more instruments had probably been buried
originally. Those enumerated are now in the Museum of Le Puy-en-Velay. An
account of this find, with illustrations, is to be found in the _Annales
de la Société d'Agriculture, Sciences, Arts et Commerce du Puy_ (tome
xxvi. 1864-5). It is also described, along with the find of Gaius Firmius
Severus, in a monograph by Deneffe, under the title of _Les Oculistes
Gallo-Romaine au III{me} siècle_ (Antwerp, 1896).
One of the most prolific finds of late years has been the discovery of a
Roman military hospital at Baden, the ancient Roman station of Aquae, or
Vicus Aquensis. From time to time isolated discoveries of instruments had
been made, including a catheter, a scalpel, and several varieties of
probes, and in March, 1893, MM. Kellersberger and Meyer proceeded to
excavate systematically the remains of some Roman buildings on their
property. A large chamber 10·35 metres by 12·5, with walls 60 cm. thick,
was discovered, and later others were discovered varying from 3 to 27
metres in length. There were in all fourteen rooms. Along the side of the
building on which a Roman road ran, there were the remains of an imposing
façade, running the whole length of the building. It had consisted of a
portico with colonnades, the foundations of which were found at regular
intervals. It is possible that some of the larger rooms had been
subdivided into others by thin walls or partitions, for fragments of
partitions of plaster with wood lathing were found.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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