Roman medical equipment

After the arrival of the Roman army the first professional medics probably made their appearance in the territory of Upper Moesia, predominantly in Singidunum and Viminacium. The means of treatment, and therefore the level of medicine, can be knowledgeable from several different sources, while the most accurate data are those obtained by the archaeological discovery of original medical instruments. In ancient Rome more than 150 different types of surgical instruments have been used. More than 300 medical and surgical instruments of various types so far have been found on the Upper Moesian Limes from Singidunum to Aquae.
Roman citizens in Singidunum (Belgrade) lived in good conditions in both the town and the surrounding villages. From archeological excavations of the area of canabae and castrum, 28 various medical mainly surgical objects have been found. Also several medical objects have been found in various settlements, smaller fortifications or villae rusticae of ager Singidonensis. Even though at the main castrum of Singidunum no hospital has been discovered yet, just south of Belgrade, epigraphy from auxiliary fort Demessus (Guberevac/Stojnik), at the mining area at Kosmaj, has the word valetudinarium inscribed on it.
Presence of some graves of doctors and pharmacists and their discovered equipment testifies that medical care was at the highest possible level in Viminacium (Stari Kostolac), capital of Moesia Superior. In several tombs in Viminacium many surgical instruments from I to III century have been found. Medical instruments of an eye doctor - "medicus et chirurgus ocularius" were excavated on the southern city-necropolis.
Downstream from Viminacium several surgical instruments are found on different sites: in Ledarta (Ram), Cuppae (Golubac), Castrum Novae (Čezava), Smorna (Boljetin), Taliata (Donji Milanovac) and at Transdierna (Tekija). At the site of Diana (Karataš) most of the medical instruments have been found dating from the II and III century, mainly made of bronze.
Well preserved traces of sewer system and water pipes even aqueducts were found not only in the town territory of Singidunum, Margum, Viminacium and Taliata but also further away. Interestingly in Singidunum, Margum,Viminacium, Porečka Reka, Transdierna, Diana and Egeta (Brza Palanka) the existence of thermae and balnea was archaeologically or epigraphically documented.

In 2014 a part-time employee of the Hulín branch of Institute of Archaeological Heritage Brno submitted two metal objects found in the previous year in a ploughed field at the border of two adjacent cadastral districts – Pravčice and Hulín, respectively, in the Kroměříž county.
No analogies to the needle/knife handle with definite dating have been found. However, the Roman Province military attire fibula with the semicircular plate suggests possible links to Roman military environment. In Moravia, the discovery of the Hercules’ club handle is the first find of this kind, whereas the fibula (type Jobst 13D) is among more frequent finds thanks to, among other things, surface survey at Germanic settlements.

Článek pojednává o nálezech římsko-provinciální kolínkovité spony s polokruhovitou záhlavní destičkou a rukojeti římského nástroje (pravděpodobně lékařské jehly/nožíku) v podobě Herkulova kyje. Oba artefakty byly nalezeny v roce 2013 při rozhrání katastrálních území Pravčice a Hulín, okr. Kroměříž. hodnocené předměty zajištěné v areálu římského tzv. krátkodobého tábora dovolují hypotetické spojení s přítomností římského vojska v průběhu markomanských válek. – The article deals with the discovery of Roman province attire fibulae with a semicircular plate and a Roman instrument handle styled as a Hercules’ club (probably medical needle/knife). Both artefacts were discovered in 2013 near the border between the cadastral districts of Pravčice and Hulín, Kroměříž County. The items discovered at the site of a former Roman short-term camp suggest the presence of Roman military during the Marcomannic Wars.