Recent
analyses of the contents of an ancient Roman shipwreck discovered in the 1970s
off the coast of the Gulf of Baratti, in southern Tuscany, has shed light on
how our predecessors treated eye and skin conditions.
‘In archaeology, the discovery of ancient
medicines is very rare, as is knowledge of their chemical composition,’
researchers wrote in a study published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. ‘The data revealed extraordinary information on the
composition of the tablets and on their possible therapeutic use.’
Grey tablets
containing zinc and beeswax were found in a tin box aboard the Pozzino
shipwreck, which was first discovered in 1974 about 18 meters off the Tuscan
coast near the ancient Etruscan city of Populonia.
In addition
to the ancient medicine found, the shipwreck, which dates to circa 140 BCE,
also contained medicinal equipment, as well as wine jars, an inkwell, tin and
bronze jugs, stacks of Syrian-Palestinian glass bowls and Ephesian lamps.
