Un medico di 2000 anni fa in Ungheria

12 Maggio, 2023

Hanno trovato un'antica tomba in Ungheria: al suo interno, qualcosa di sorprendente

Una scoperta che ha dell'incredibile per via non solo dello scheletro, ma soprattutto per il suo corredo funerario: una tomba in Ungheria ha rivelato qualcosa di davvero unico

Fonte: Nemzet és múzeum - ELTE Bölcsészettudományi Kar

Lo abbiamo detto spesso, ma val la pena ripeterlo: talvolta la morte ci parla in maniera incredibilmente dettagliata della vita. O, almeno, di certo ci racconta di esistenze antiche, lontanissime nel tempo, che possono rivelarci dettagli che vivendo esclusivamente nel presente non saremmo in grado di conoscere. Per esempio, di recente, una tomba in Ungheria ha aperto agli archeologi le porte della conoscenza per via del suo particolarissimo contenuto.

Se ci fermassimo alle apparenze non noteremmo niente di "speciale": dentro la tomba, come prevedibile, si trovavano i resti di un defunto, nello specifico uno scheletro che, nonostante lo straordinario stato di conservazione, non sembra in fondo diverso da molti altri trovati in giro per il mondo. A fare la differenza, però, è stato il corredo funerario, composto da attrezzature incredibili.

La scoperta dell’antica tomba

Una squadra di archeologi dell’ELTE BTK, del Museo Jász e dell’Eötvös Loránd Research Network era al lavoro vicino a Jászberény, città sul fiume Zagyva a soli 60 chilometri da Budapest. Jászberény è di base un centro noto per la sua lunghissima storia: tutta l’area che la circonda e la comprende è stata abitata almeno dal 16.500 a.C e le popolazioni nomadi ne hanno segnato l’evoluzione.

L’intervento degli archeologi sull’area dunque è stato tutto fuorché casuale: gli studiosi erano intenti a cercare nuovi reperti che restituissero una quadro più completo della cronologia delle popolazioni che si sono stanziate, anche se per breve tempo, nella regione dello Jászság. Fino a oggi erano state rinvenute moltissime tombe, perciò quando l’ultima è venuta alla luce non c’era alcun particolare stupore che, invece, è subentrato quando il contenitore funebre è stato aperto.

Cosa c’era nella tomba ungherese?

Eccolo lì, uno scheletro perfettamente conservato, risalente a circa 2000 anni fa: fatta eccezione per la cassa toracica e parte del bacino, i resti umani erano in ottimo stato. Come abbiamo già detto, però, non è stato questo a stupire gli archeologi, ma il corredo funerario che ha rivelato che a giacere per lungo tempo nelle profondità della terra era nientemeno che un antichissimo medico. E, a dirla tutta, pare che no non si trattasse neanche di un medico qualunque.

Infatti, la sua attrezzatura era (ed è ancora) completissima: pinze, aghi, pinzette e bisturi di prima qualità sono stati sapientemente riposti ai piedi del morto, dentro una cassetta di legno. Ancora, in un’altra piccola cassetta, sono stati riposti dei farmaci (di cui però sono rimasti solo pochi resti) e accanto alle gambe del defunto si trovava anche una pietra da macina che, secondo gli archeologici, era quella che l’uomo usava per mescolare erbe e altri medicinali.

Un medico fuori dal comune

Secondo il capo-archeologo Samu Levente, ricercatore dell’ELTE, la presenza di questo medico così ben attrezzato implica qualcosa di molto più grande di quanto si possa pensare. Strumenti chirurgici così prestigiosi e raffinati, ai tempi in cui questo dottore viveva, apparteneva solo ai più saggi e istruiti medici della classe dell’Impero Romano. Si ritiene dunque che il medico non fosse originario dell’area di Jászberény ma che sia stato chiamato a operare qualcuno.

Chi fosse quel qualcuno non è ancora chiaro. Per Levente si trattava certamente di una persona importante, ma non sono ancora state trovate tombe che possano suggerirne l’identità. Ciò però non scoraggia gli studiosi, anzi: li sta spingendo ad avviare nuove campagne per avere risposte più precise e per arricchire una pagina di storia che è ancora, per certi versi, oscura.

https://tecnologia.libero.it/trovata-antica-tomba-ungheria-scoperta-sorprendente-71120/amp

Hungary Posts English

The 2,000-year-old grave of an ancient “top doctor” was unearthed in Hungary

The healer who lived in the first century AD, buried in the area of today’s Jászság, must have been an exceptionally knowledgeable specialist who was capable of complex operations with his surgical instruments made of metal alloys. Scalpels with replaceable blades, tongs, dental instruments and bone scrapers were found by Hungarian archaeologists in exceptionally good condition next to the doctor’s remains.

A joint excavation between Eötvös Loránd University, the Jász Museum and the Eötvös Loránd Research Network took place last year, which was preceded by intensive preliminary work. On the surface, the archaeologists found valuable Avar and Copper Age artefacts, then carried out a detailed field trip and magnetometer reconnaissance. Based on this, it was assumed that there might once have been a cemetery here, but the discovery of the grave of a special, first-century doctor caught the experts by surprise, he said. Vida Tivadar, director of the ELTE BTK Institute of Archaeology at the press conference held in connection with the discovery.

Academician László Borhy, archaeologist, rector of ELTE According to In the Roman era, it was common for highly skilled doctors to travel and practice their profession in several areas of the empire, so it is likely that the former doctor healed both within and outside the borders of the Roman Empire. Based on carbon isotope dating

the doctor must have been 50-60 years old and buried between 25 and 125 AD. No signs of trauma or illness were found on the remains.

At that time, today’s Jászság was an area outside the Roman Empire inhabited by Sarmatians, so-called barbaricum. Although the Roman conquest of Pannonia was already underway at that time, the area only became a province later, around 175 CE. At the time of the doctor’s death, this was an area outside the Roman Empire, approximately 75 kilometers from the empire’s Danube border. Whether the doctor came from Rome, Sarmatian, or another area will be revealed later by genetic tests.

Magnetometer surveys were carried out in the excavation area close to Jászberény, because this method, supplemented by a field trip, can provide a particularly accurate prediction of the archaeological coverage and intensity of some sites. Samu Levente, scientific assistant at the ELTE BTK Institute of Archaeology said that an early medieval Avar cemetery was suspected in this place, so the emergence of a shallow grave, only 60 centimeters from today’s plowing surface, in which, in addition to human remains, metal objects were also found, was relatively unexpected. Among the tools were dental pliers, medical tweezers, bone scrapers, spatulas, and a round stone on the outside of the corpse’s right knee, which the doctor could probably have used to mix herbs and medicines. Parts of two, so far unknown, tools were also found, one of which may have been a part of a scale, and the other part of a larger medical knife or drill handle.

Under the conditions of the era, the metal tools found in the grave were considered top quality and were also suitable for complicated medical interventions. Benedek Varga, director of the Semmelweis Medical History Museum he revealed that when he first heard the news of the discovery from the archaeologists, he thought it was impossible that such a level of medical equipment could be found from such an early time. This presupposes knowledge that was developed only 100 years later, in the second century after Christ, namely that the doctors of that time – mainly of Greek origin – were capable of the so-called body cavity surgery, which included opening the body and healing the bones. . Until the 19th century, this was almost impossible, since in the absence of disinfection, blood replacement, or pain relief, the majority of patients died from pain, blood loss, or infection during surgery. It is true that the Romans already knew about basic disinfection with vinegar and hot water, but they mostly only performed surgery on the body’s surface, that is, they treated injuries caused by spears and bows, and they performed amputations.

This equipment therefore shows that the owner of the tools with replaceable blades made of copper and steel must have been the “top doctor” of his time, a highly respected specialist who for some reason migrated to an area outside the Roman Empire.

A similar level of medical equipment was found only in the city of Pompeii, which was destroyed in AD 79, but this area cannot be compared to the barbaricum in the area of Jászság at that time. As far as development is concerned, at that time Pompeii, the center of the Roman Empire, was compared to today’s London, for example, Switzerland, while the areas of Pannonia inhabited by barbarian tribes were much more backward, explained Varga.

One of the so-called bone scrapers found in a grave is still used by surgeons today, mainly for joining broken bones, and another tool, a root extracting forceps, was probably used to remove the roots of teeth. By the way, the doctor’s remains show that one of his teeth and his wisdom teeth are missing, and the healed state of the periosteum indicates that they were professionally extracted during his lifetime, and not that he lost them after his death.

András Gulyás, archaeologist museologist of the Jász Museum he said that in this period the area of Jászság was largely inhabited by Sarmatians, so the doctor was them, but it is even more likely that one of them could have come to heal a leader of high social prestige and dignity, or that he was accompanying him. The first century – especially in this area – was the age of changes, the northern war route of the Romans was close, so the movement of peoples in the region was great, and the influence of the Empire could also be significant. In response to Rakéta’s question, Gulyás said that the fact that the grave was not robbed – as was typical among the Sarmatians – suggests that the doctor was probably highly respected. This is probably why the grave was almost completely intact, except for a passage dug by an animal, which started at the left foot of the corpse and continued all the way to the head. This is how one of the medical devices was able to travel from the foot of the body to the head, covering about two meters in more than two thousand years. Looking at the remains of the body, the spine and ribs were almost completely pulverized, but the skull and feet remained in good condition.

The archaeologists’ work was accompanied by quite stormy weather last year, so they had to quickly, almost at breakneck speed, extract the finds, despite this, they decided to proceed relatively slowly, “in situ”, that is, by digging deep under the remains, together with the earth, it is transported from the site while keeping it in the found position. This is how ancient medical devices came to be Döbröntey-David Szilvia, certified restoration artistHez, who then separated the scales and tongs that had stuck together due to corrosion. It was then that they discovered that, in addition to the metal, there were also wood fibers among the remains, from which they came to the conclusion that the tools could have been placed in the grave in a wooden box. Based on the analysis of the remains, it was determined how big these boxes might have been, so it was possible to create the age-appropriate containers currently visible next to the find. The medical instruments were decorated using a method called tausgrim, which was considered rare at the time. During this special process, the phenomenon that different colors of metal alloys create a contrast was exploited: a pattern is engraved into the object, and then another wire, usually made of precious metal, is hammered into the engraving, which thus decorates the object with its striking color. In the grave, a yellow homogeneous substance was also found attached to the objects. During the analyses, it also contains sulfur in addition to iron, so it is assumed that it may be the remains of some kind of medicine.

According to the archaeologists, the excavation will continue this year in the area where the grave site and remains of extraordinary importance were found, and in the meantime they will also carry out a genetic examination of the remains of the mysterious ancient doctor.

https://hungary.postsen.com/trends/amp/161054