Mysteries of Ancient Medicine

From gold dental bands in Etruscan tombs to the blood stained remains of a medieval hospital in Scotland, archaeologists reveal the gritty realities of ancient care. A crafted Egyptian prosthetic adds a final twist, raising new questions about innovation in early medicine.

A Chinese emperor gambles on a glittering elixir promising eternal life, while a fearless Renaissance anatomist challenges ancient medical doctrine. As the black death spreads across continents, desperate physicians search for answers in a race against unimaginable devastation.

Toxic medieval paranoia sparks the use of a lurid stone; in ancient Egypt, a fascination with a shocking creature leads to curious treatments; and in ancient Chinese burials, traces of cannabis are found.

Egyptian mummies are looted to fill the shelves of European dispensaries; a community in the Alps defies science with a toxic supplement; and in an ancient Mayan kingdom, remnants of a sweat bath provide clues to early maternal health.

An 18th-century cup promising universal healing conceals a deadly secret. Roman army medics display remarkable ancient care. And fragile bamboo scrolls hint at the origins of ancient Chinese medical traditions.

Grim discoveries aboard a sunken wreck reveal the horrors of pirate medicine at sea. The remains of ancient Peruvians bear the markings of strange surgical experimentation. And a drug-laced latrine leads us to a historic American foot trail.

A Roman incantation is wielded to ward off disease, unusual remedies carved in Chinese grottos provide ancient medical advice, and a fossilised squid in a medieval Polish grave reveals ancient medical magic.

During times of war and plague, barber surgeons provide medical interventions. Astrologer-physicians look to astrological charts to treat their patients. And groundbreaking surgical practices arise from an innovative figure in ancient India.

A Roman shipwreck reveals the oldest known medical tablets, poppy-shaped jars in a Canaanite tomb trace the roots of opioid use and a Stone Age skeleton with an amputated leg challenges our understanding of prehistoric medicine.

Royal relics expose a healing ritual once believed to cure with a touch. An ancient skull reveals how far healers go to fight leprosy. And new evidence from Egypt reveals how early medicine confronted cancer.