From mine to apothecary: an archaeo-biomedical approach to the study of the Greco-Roman lithotherapeutics industry

Western biomedicine has only partially developed its own tradition of mineral medicinals (lithotherapeutics), at least compared to botanicals. This is perhaps because these minerals were site-specific, and fundamental information associated with the empirical processes of mineral extraction, beneficiation, storage, trade and preparation was not widely available. In other words, there are many and serious breaks in the multi-link chain from mine to apothecary. This long-term investigation aims to rebuild this chain, on a mineral-bymineral basis, by pulling together the extant documentary record, material culture, mineralogy, geochemistry and microbial ecology, as well as by testing against known pathogens as an indicator of their antimicrobial activity. Critical to understanding the nature and efficacy of lithotherapeutics is the recognition that these materials need to be investigated simultaneously at two levels: the empirical (ancient sources and practices); and the biomedical (application of physical and biological sciences). Both approaches require the same starting point, namely the field (mine or quarry) and in particular the ‘point of contact’ (relationship) between minerals and their microbiome

The Metallographic investigation of the Leckie Broch metalwork and industrial waste

No abstract available

Mycenaean ‘Alum’: Implications for the exchange of astringent minerals in the Bronze Age

This paper is speculative but is based on the observation that there is archaeological evidence for the existence of Mycenaean pottery in the vicinity of natural resources, rich in astringent minerals. These resources include alum group minerals from the volcanic environments of Melos, in the Aegean, the Aeolian Islands and the Bay of Naples in Italy and the metal sulphates of Cyprus associated with copper sulphide mineralisation. Both types of minerals could have served (amongst other applications) as mordants for the Bronze Age textiles industry. Despite Mycenaean awareness of these minerals, there is little evidence for Mycenaean trading in them. There is however the interesting reference in the Linear B tablets to tu-ru-pte-ri-ja, stypteria, or alum. We suggest that the term may have covered all types of astringent minerals, from both east and west, particularly in view of its association in one tablet from Pylos, with ku-pi-ri-jo, Kuprios or Cypriot. The proposal has implications for the Bronze Age minerals exploration and exchange which goes, currently, ‘under the radar’

The presence of Au and Ag in Pb-rich slags from Hellenistic Pistyros, N. Greece: some observations

Pistyros, in NE Greece, is a small fortified urban settlement founded by Thasians on the mainland in the 7th c. BCE; it displays, uniquely for the region, a considerable amount of well contextualized and dated (4th-3rd c. BCE) metallurgical waste (in excess of 1.2 tons); further, the Pb-based metallurgical waste displays presence of Au and Ag. In an area famous, both on historical and geological grounds, for its base (Cu, Pb, Fe) and precious (Au, Ag) metals deposits, there exists, still today, no good evidence for their routine extraction and processing and on a large scale. The questions that arise are related to what was urban Pistyros’ main function. Was it intent on making metals and which ones? Was it making only metals or metal derivatives (oxides or carbonates) as well? We have at this stage no definitive answers. In this paper we focus on the presentation of EPMA (Electron Probe Micro Analysis) results from three slag sample-types (silicate slag, iron arsenides, lead oxides). We examine the presence and distribution of Au and Ag within, and suggest that the two metals probably play a secondary role to the site’s main involvement, i.e. Pb-based metallurgy; be it for the production of antimonial lead and its ‘purification’ for the production of lead oxide and/or for the further processing of iron arsenides. Pistyros polymetallic metallurgical waste interpretation requires careful assessment of what it means to carry out high temperature metallurgical activities for the purpose of acquiring not just metals but possibly, also, metallic mineral derivatives within urban centers; such centers tend to be rare, nuanced, and certainly challenge us to look beyond the ‘precious metal-for-coinage’ axis we have been accustomed to

Appendix 3. The haematite and related iron-rich materials

No abstract available

Tracing impurities to minerals : overlapping XRF and XRD data sets derived from synchrotron techniques

Recipes for the manufacture of metals-based synthetic minerals, as well as the pharmacological preparations they formed an integral part of, are historically well documented in the Greco-Roman world. The purpose of the present research is to identify and evaluate these preparations in archaeological artifacts (labelled ‘cosmetics’ or ‘medicines’, found as pellets or mineralised powders in small ceramic/metal containers) to match ‘recipe’ with ‘product’. To that end, we have applied synchrotron techniques, specifically the spatial overlay of 2D XRF (major/trace elements) over XRD scans (crystalline phases), to two lead-based powders recovered from within metal vials from the ‘tomb of the doctor’ cemetery of Alykes, Pydna in Macedonia, Greece (4thc BCE). The aim is to ascribe major elements and impurities to spatially well-defined crystalline phases. While the major element (i.e., Pb) clearly overlaps with the main Pb-rich phases identified (i.e., cerussite and hydrocerussite), minor/trace elements (for example Cu, Fe, Mn) equally clearly distribute themselves in a number of non-Pb based phases (i.e., quartz or amorphous). Had these elements been part of burial contamination they would likely ‘blanket’ cover all phases indiscriminately. Fe can be in the form of amorphous ferrihydroxides, on which Cu adsorbs; it can adhere onto quartz. When no quartz is present, organics (waxes/resins) may be the ‘carriers’ of these elements. We argue that being able to differentiate between elements arising from burial environment (randomly on all phases observed) versus those integrally associated with the preparation of the powder is a powerful tool in the study of these unique samples of early pharmaceuticals technology

Neue Funde aus der eisenzeitlichen Hügelnekropole von Vergina, Griechisch Makedonien. Appendix 1: Metallographic investigation of iron Artefacts from EIA Cemetery at Vergina

No abstract available

Bridging the gaps:Bole and Terra Sigillata as artefacts, as simples and as antibacterial clays

Medicinal earths are an important and yet, so far, little scientifically explored archaeological resource. They are almost always identified by their source locality. Our work over the last few years has focused on their chemical and mineralogical characterization and their testing as anti-bacterials. This paper presents the results of the mineralogical analysis and antibacterial testing of six medicinal earths, bole or Terra Sigillata (stamped earth) of unknown date and provenance in the Pharmacy Museum of the University of Basel. Only one of them, a red (Armenian?) ‘bole’, was found to be antibacterial against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. A yellow powder of Terra Tripolitania was mildly antibacterial and against one pathogen only. We argue that medicinal earths are in a pivotal place to bridge the gap between currently dispersed pieces of information. This information relates to: (a) their nature, attributes, and applications as described in the texts of different periods, (b) the source of their clays and how best to locate them in the field today, and (c) the methods employed for their beneficiation, if known. We propose that work should be focused primarily onto those medicinal earths whose clay sources can be re-discovered, sampled and assessed. From then on, a parallel investigation should be initiated involving both earths and their natural clays (mineralogy at bulk and nano-sized levels, bio-geochemistry, microbiological testing). We argue that the combined study can shed light into the parameters driving antibacterial action in clays and assist in the elucidation of the mechanisms involved

On Oxos, Evros and Pharmaka Metallika: an ancient Greek perspective on Biotechnology for ‘New’ Pharmaceuticals (fifth to first century BCE)

No abstract available

Slags reinventing themselves: from metallurgical waste to ingredients in pharmacological applications

No abstract available