Archaeological and Other Medical Materials from Georgian Museums

Archaeological excavations have revealed diverse medical materials of the Bronze, Neolithic, Hellenistic Ages, the Roman Empire and late ancient culture period in the territory of Georgia. These materials are rich repositories of national, spiritual and material culture kept in different museums of Georgia. To show the origin and development of medicine in Georgia, it is, primarily, crucial to investigate the history of old Georgian medicine. One way to accomplish this is through finding some evidence, such as the implements found in this region. They can testify the existence and prevalence of medicine in this region. For instance, in this region, some surgical tools and dishes for preparing or keeping drugs are found which belong to mid-second millennium B.C.; or various archaeological materials/ tools, such as blood and cosmetic tools, bone instruments, such as trephine, or even some instruments for personal hygiene, and dishes with different functions are also found in this area. The other interesting point is that in Georgia, mineral waters were used for surgical purposes, confirming relics of old bath discovered in old settlements of Dzalisa and Armazi etc. (II c. BC-VIII c. AD). In Georgia, drugstores and hospitals have long been in use. Ancient Medical textbooks (11th-12th cc.) also confirm that theoretical and practical medicine in Georgia has been amongst the pioneering practices of the time. Various deceases and surgeries, as well as certain physiological, biological, pharmacological and hygienic concepts, are widely explained in these book. There are numerous materials of medical heritage housed in different museums of Georgia which have to be analyzed and worked on systematically. They will greatly contribute to the history of Georgian as well as modern medicine.