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Medical Treatments in Medieval Leprosaria. Exploring Healing Remedies through Dental Calculus Analysis

Projektbeschreibung

Innovative Analyse der mittelalterlichen Behandlungsmethoden von Lepra

Im 11. Jahrhundert wurden in Europa Leprakliniken eingerichtet, um das Infektionsrisiko zu senken. Nach mittelalterlichen Abhandlungen und Chroniken beruhte die Behandlung der Krankheit auf Heilpflanzen und anderen Bestandteilen mineralischen und tierischen Ursprungs. Doch wir wissen nur wenig über die Diagnose- und Behandlungsmethoden in den Kliniken. Das EU-finanzierte Projekt MEDICAL wird Zahnstein analysieren und die medizinische Behandlung von Menschen in Leprakliniken in Nordeuropa im Mittelalter (1100-1550 n. Chr.) erforschen. Das Projekt wird dabei erstmals eine archäologische Perspektive einnehmen, indem die Skelettüberreste aus ehemaligen Leprafriedhöfen in England und Frankreich untersucht werden.

Ziel

Leprosy was an iconic disease in medieval Europe. From the 11th century, several leprosy hospitals were founded as a mitigative response to the risk of infection. Medieval treatises and chronicles suggest that leprosy was treated with medicinal plants and other ingredients of mineral and animal origin. However, very little is known about the methods used to diagnose and treat this disease within leprosaria, and medical treatments of leprosy have very rarely put in their physical context so far. Through the analysis of the dental calculus, the MEDICAL project aims to explore the medical care offered to people who experienced leprosy and lived in leprosaria in Northern Europe during the medieval period (1100-1550AD). To date, these medical treatments have never been analysed from an archaeological perspective and the study of skeletal remains recovered from selected historic leprosy cemeteries offers an unparalleled opportunity to investigate medical treatments further. The MEDICAL project will focus on two north European case studies: the cemeteries of St. Leonard at Peterborough (England) and Saint-Thomas d’Aizier (France). The research will be developed at the Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences at the Sapienza University in Rome (host institution) and at the Department of Archaeology of Durham University (secondment). Under the supervision of Professor Emanuela Cristiani (Rome) and Professor Charlotte Roberts (Durham), the applicant Dr Elena Fiorin will analyse human dental calculus employing optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy with X-ray microanalysis using Energy and Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. This project ultimately seeks to shed new light on the history of medieval medicine developing a novel and fresh archaeological methodology for the study of infectious diseases in the ‘golden age of bacteria’.

Koordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA
Netto-EU-Beitrag
€ 171 473,28
Adresse
Piazzale Aldo Moro 5
00185 Roma
Italien

Auf der Karte ansehen

Region
Centro (IT) Lazio Roma
Aktivitätstyp
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Gesamtkosten
€ 171 473,28