Atila C., Demirbolat İ., Çelebi R. B.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE: REPORTS, cilt.70, ss.105589, 2026 (AHCI, Scopus)
Özet
Fecal-based
pharmacological treatments are widely attested in Greco-Roman medical
texts, yet no direct chemical evidence has until now supported their
practical application. This study presents the first molecular
confirmation of such practices through GC–MS/FID analysis of organic
residues from a Roman glass unguentarium (artifact no. 4027) excavated
in Pergamon, a major center of Roman medicine. The vessel’s contents
revealed a distinctive blend of human fecal biomarkers (including
coprostanol and 24-ethylcoprostanol) and aromatic compounds such as
carvacrol, a major constituent of thyme oil. These results align with
classical prescriptions that combined dung with odor-masking agents to
enhance patient compliance −practices noted in the works of Galen,
Dioscorides, and Pliny the Elder.
By
integrating archaeometric analysis with historical and philological
research, the study reframes Roman unguentaria as vehicles not only for
cosmetics, but also for socially managed therapeutic substances. The
findings contribute critical empirical support for the pharmacological
use of excrement in antiquity and offer a replicable interdisciplinary
model for investigating ancient medicine. In light of contemporary
interest in microbiome-based therapies, this evidence also prompts a
reconsideration of early traditions once dismissed as marginal or
irrational.