The set is extremely rare. Hardly another of a similar design has been found in all of Europe, among the ruins of Pompeii. This medical instrument discovered in Hungary dates from the 1st century and is of extraordinary quality. Its owner was a Roman doctor buried almost 2,000 years ago near Jászberény, in Hungary.
Archaeologists from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) found the complete equipment used for both wound care and surgical interventions. Pliers, needles, tweezers, forceps as well as scalpels and drug residue were placed in wooden chests near their owner’s feet.
“During this period, in Jászság – in the center of present-day Hungary, about 55 kilometers east of Budapest – a transition was probably taking place between the Sarmatian populations of the Celtic period and the Roman period, so it is striking that a doctor with such a prestigious team will visit this area. The assumption is that this well-equipped individual, probably trained in some imperial center, may have traveled to the region to save someone in particular,” say the researchers.
The scalpels found were made of copper alloy and decorated with silver elements and fitted with replaceable steel blades. A grinding stone was placed on the deceased’s knee, which, according to wear marks, might have been suitable for mixing herbs and other medicines.
Other surgical instruments are known to have been found in different areas of the Roman Empire and exact copies of scalpels have even been found at a Gallic site. Even so, similar finds in the area of ​​the ancient Barbaricum – the vast territories occupied by the ‘barbarians’ beyond the Roman borders – are extremely rare.
“Both the visit and the burial of this doctor in the Jászság area could presumably be the result of some extraordinary event,” the Hungarian experts admit. “The importance of the finding is highlighted by the fact that, based on the range of tools, we are talking about a complete medical suite,” they add.
The archaeologists also recovered the almost complete skeleton of the doctor himself. His analysis showed that he was a man in his 50s and 60s when he died, but had not suffered any obvious illness or trauma.
Although the region was still ruled by the Sarmatians in the 1st century AD and acted as a buffer between Roman territories and northern Dacia, this area became fully Romanized after the Marcomannic Wars (166-188 AD). Rome won the Germanics and Sarmatians, turning this territory into a frontier of the Empire until the 5th century, when it fell into the hands of the Huns.
