Saturday, June 13, 2015

Medieval Medicines

From Dig Ventures:
Founded in 1160 by Augustinian monks, Soutra was a massive medieval complex large enough to hold 300-400 people. It included a church, a monastery and… the largest hospital in Scotland at the time.

When archaeologists started excavating, they encountered a thick, gooey black substance, which tests later confirmed was human blood. Turns out, these were the remains of blood pits where Soutra’s medieval doctors had emptied human blood and other medical waste which had been preserved in Scotland’s wet soil (including toxic ingredients and even viable spores of contagious diseases…)

From diet pills to anaesthetics, here’s a handful of some of the incredible discoveries from Soutra that will change your view of medieval medicine forever...(Read more.)
Share

No comments: