Ship wreck reveals ancient secrets of medicine
Activer le mode zenAdrian Higgins
"It has been more than 2,000 years since a Roman merchant ship foundered off the west coast of the Italian peninsula and almost 40 years since the wreck was discovered. Now, the DNA trapped in medicines found aboard the ship is yielding secrets of health care in the ancient world.
"Samples from two tablets analyzed at the Smithsonian's Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics reveal a dried concoction of about a dozen medicinal herbs, including celery, alfalfa and wild onion, bound together with clay and zinc.
"The tablets may have been used externally to treat skin conditions or dissolved in water or wine and taken for intestinal ailments such as dysentery, speculates Alain Touwaide, historian of sciences in the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History."
Pour citer cette ressource :
Ship wreck reveals ancient secrets of medicine, La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), janvier 2011. Consulté le 26/12/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/ship-wreck-reveals-ancient-secrets-of-medicine