In 2021, a team of researchers excavated a 2,800-year-old temple in the ancient Thracian city of Heraion Teikos, Turkey. A water system has now been identified that connects to the space within the temple, which researchers are calling an “ancient medicine-producing region.”
Digging through the Thracian city of Helion Teikos
The ancient Thracian city of Heraion Teikos is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara in the Eastern Thrace region of Tekirdağ province in northwestern Turkey.
Back in 2021, archaeologists unearthed an ancient Thracian temple filled with precious artefacts at the city’s Acropolis, believed to have been destroyed in a fire in 2 BC.
Dr. Neshe Atik told Hürriyet Daily News that a team from Istanbul Rumeli University has been conducting excavations at Heraion Teikos since 2000. Although the temple itself is mostly in ruins, researchers have removed statues of gods such as “Cybele, Eros, and Aphrodite” and “Cybele, Eros, and Aphrodite.” Bronze coins, amphora and similar fragments excavated from the temple,” Atiku said.
Now, archaeologists have announced the identification of a pharmaceutical production unit with a dedicated water supply system.
Dr. Neshe Atiku and one of the statues previously discovered at the site. (Suleimanpasa City)
Who were the Thracians?
The Thracians were a tribal group known for their rich culture and fearsome warriors that flourished in southern Europe from about 2000 to 1500 BC. The Thracians, who lived in what is now Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, were not a single people, but a collection of tribes that shared similar customs, art, and language. Despite the lack of a centralized political structure, they left an indelible mark on the region’s historical landscape.
The Thracians are perhaps best known for their elaborate metalwork, especially in gold and silver, and for their legendary figures from Thrace, such as Spartacus. Their culture, interwoven with Greek and later Roman influences, contributed significantly to the tapestry of classical antiquity, but remains shrouded in mystery due to a lack of written records.
pharmacology of the ancient world
In the 8th century BC, most civilizations had a class of doctors, herbalists, and professional healers. Medical procedures took place in temples, in areas clearly separated from religious activities in sanctuaries. Dr Atiku said the Heraion Teikos excavation team had two clear goals. The aim is to protect the village for cultural tourism and to introduce the site to the scientific community.
Over the past 20 years, the site has been unearthed with statues, terracotta pots, metal finds and coins, but the main objective now is to excavate a “medicinal production area”.
They are also trying to determine how the water was transported to the medical center. Atiq said that at the time, water systems in hilltop villages were “usually built in large cisterns.” However, in this case the water was not sourced from a reservoir, but from a forested area a few kilometers east of the excavation site.
Researchers excavate part of the ancient Thracian city of Heraion Teikos. (Suleimanpasa City)
Medical Archeology of Ancient Thrace
Excavators identified a series of terracotta pipes connecting a pool of water and a stone channel. The discovery led the team to identify evidence of drug manufacturing, which Atiq said was “spread throughout the excavation area.” She added that the discovery is scientifically important because it is the first time archaeologists have discovered a medicine storehouse and water supply system so close together.
A modern Thracian skull dating back to the 8th millennium BC has been discovered in Drankurak, a settlement in the far northwestern part of Bulgaria. Delicate circles etched into the bone were confirmed to be “perforation” marks, but no medical instruments were found. However, in a Thracian tomb excavated in Karanovo, “18 silver and gold surgical instrument sets were found near the skeleton,” said Associate Professor Krasimir Koev, a member of the research team, in 2011. Says.
This discovery is consistent with the form and function of modern medical devices and attests to the high level of medical knowledge in ancient Thracian culture.
What will be unearthed soon?
When an ancient Thracian doctor was unearthed at Karanovo, Associate Professor Krasimir Koev proposed that “the Thracians had an organized form of medicine.”
Now, the discovery of the Heraion Teikos temple medical center not only confirms these earlier speculations, but also raises hopes that the inner secrets of the ancient Thracian “pharmacists” may soon be revealed. There is.
The modern-day ancient Greeks called medicine iatriche (Greek: ἰατρική), linking the spiritual and the physical, and that health was influenced by factors such as geographic location, social class, diet, trauma, beliefs, and ways of thinking. They believed that it was affected by body fluids. They believed that disease was God’s punishment and that healing techniques were God’s gift.
Over time, spiritual beliefs about “punishment” and “gifts” were eventually replaced and the study of medicine devoid of divine power was created. Only time will tell, but a similar evolution from sacred to practical medicine may soon be established in the Thracian civilization.
Top image: Heraion Teikos, an ancient Thracian city in modern-day Türkiye.Source: Tekirdag Oblast Directorate of Culture and Tourism
Written by Ashley Cowie
