Health and Herbal Medicine in Roman Britain
Tuesday 17 June 2025
Archaeology is constantly providing more information on this subject up and down the country. From stone stamps describing eye ointments and giving us the oculist’s name and often main ingredients, to the lay-out of a military hospital and votive offerings in temples of healing. Written sources are also available, from the wooden writing tablets found at Vindolanda fort on Hadrian’s wall to the recipes of Scribonius Largus, a surgeon who was stationed in that same area in the first century.
The focus of the day will be wide, taking in living conditions and common health problems, beliefs about health and making recipes from the period. Herbs will include myrrh, saffron, frankincense, pepper, long pepper, stoechas lavender, parsley, juniper, wild carrot, orris root and cumin. Recipes will concentrate on treatments for common problems of the period, for the eyes, throat, coughs, stomach pain etc. Dental care will also be considered from toothpastes to treatments.
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Tuesday 17 June 2025
Archaeology is constantly providing more information on this subject up and down the country. From stone stamps describing eye ointments and giving us the oculist’s name and often main ingredients, to the lay-out of a military hospital and votive offerings in temples of healing. Written sources are also available, from the wooden writing tablets found at Vindolanda fort on Hadrian’s wall to the recipes of Scribonius Largus, a surgeon who was stationed in that same area in the first century.
The focus of the day will be wide, taking in living conditions and common health problems, beliefs about health and making recipes from the period. Herbs will include myrrh, saffron, frankincense, pepper, long pepper, stoechas lavender, parsley, juniper, wild carrot, orris root and cumin. Recipes will concentrate on treatments for common problems of the period, for the eyes, throat, coughs, stomach pain etc. Dental care will also be considered from toothpastes to treatments.
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