Santillo Frizell.indd.pag.indd

80
Curing the flock. The use of healing waters
in Roman pastoral economy
by
Barbro Santillo Frizell
With an appendix by Kenneth F. Kitchell, Inscription CIL XIV, 3911 from Aquae Albulae, Tivoli
Abstract:
The Roman physicians were well aware of the medicinal properties
of mineral waters and used them frequently for treatment of human
beings. The aim of my paper is to investigate evidence for the use
of these waters, in particular those containing sulphur, as a resource
in ancient veterinary medicine. Furthermore, the role of sanctuaries
associated with healing waters in the context of animal husbandry, in
particular sheep-breeding, is discussed. On the basis of textual, archaeological and ethnographical evidence, I argue that treatment with
sulphurous water was an important therapy against some epizootic
diseases and other illnesses which were a constant threat to sheepfarmers. The presence of sulphurous water in areas exploited for large
scale transhumance should therefore have been an important factor
which conditioned keeping such large herds of animals, as was used.
This issue has not been given attention previously in studies of pastoral
economies in the Graeco-Roman world, although this geological
phenomenon is present overall throughout present the Mediterranean
basin.
It was during a landscape survey in the hinterland of
Campania (ancient Hirpinia) when I first got the idea to
investigate the relationship between sulphurous waters and animal husbandry, in particular the large-scale
transhumance economy. I then visited the sanctuary of
Mephitis in Val Ampsanctus. This place was already
famous in Roman times for its sulphurous waters, which
Virgil in analogy with the Lake Avernus in the Golf of
Naples, associated with the underworld. In ancient times
important cattle-trails passed not far from the sanctuary.
The frequency of the visitors at the sanctuary probably
coincided with seasonal migrations.
In order to verify my hypothesis regarding the role
of sulphurous springs in the pastoral economy, I have
proceeded along several lines of investigations, using a
method which combines ancient texts, archaeological
finds, topography, ethnographical analogies and modern
veterinary medicine.
The ancient texts of primary importance are the Roman agricultural treatises by Cato, Varro and Columella,
Pliny and Vitruvius on natural history and the properties
of different waters, and Strabo on topography. The Latin
poets are also valuable sources. Virgil’s pastoral poetry,
and in particular, his Georgica contains much useful
information, much of which had been gathered from
other sources.
The geography
The geographical setting which is mandatory for
transhumance on a large scale is of a complementary
character including both mountain areas and coastal
plains. The Apennine mountain range runs like a dorsal
spine through the Italian peninsula and constitutes an
important resource for animal breeding on large scale.
The Apennine highlands were exploited for summer pastures. In the winter the animals were taken to the coastal
plains and wetlands. These grounds were of little value
for agriculture, but constituted significant reserves in
animal breeding and saltworks, of a multiple usefulness since salt also is an extremely important product in
animal husbandry. The early history of Rome is closely
associated with the control of the salt production at the
mouth of the Tiber and its distribution. Marshes and wetlands constituted the coastal landscape of Rome to the
north and south of the Tiber from earliest times until the
gigantic reclamation projects during the Fascist era in
the 1920, which transformed the Tuscan Maremma and
the Pontine Marshes into agricultural land.1
One of the large scale transhumance systems that
was organized and controlled by the state in Italy during
historical times was the Dogana delle Pecore under the
Spanish crown of Naples. It was founded by Federico
II (1231) and exploited the geographical area from the
Abruzzi to Apulia. Another was the Dogana dei Pascoli del Patrimonio di S. Pietro in Tuscia (1289) which
covered the area south and north of Rome using the
Campagna Romana and the Maremma for winter pasture
and the Appenines of Abruzzi, Umbria and Marche for
summer grazing. Both were founded in late Medieval
period and reorganized almost contemporarily during the
15th century. There is enough archaeological and documentary evidence to show that similar transhumance
systems functioned in these areas during antiquity, i.e.
the Roman period and earlier.2 The primary economic
outcome was the production of wool.
PECUS. Man and animal in antiquity. Proceedings of the conference at the Swedish Institute in Rome, September 9-12, 2002.
Ed. Barbro Santillo Frizell (The Swedish Institute in Rome. Projects and Seminars, 1), Rome 2004.
www.svenska-institutet-rom.org/pecus
Barbro Santillo Frizell
81
Fig. 1. Map of Italy showing mountains, regions and other places mentioned in the text.
With a metaphor, the Roman aristocrat Varro, himself
owner of migrant herds, gives a very clear image of the
complementary situation of the geographical spaces
highland and plain, which constitute the precondition
for the large scale transhumance economy in this part of
Italy: “For I had flocks that wintered in Apulia and summered in the mountains around Reate, these two widely
separated ranges being connected by public cattle-trails,
as a pair of buckets by their yoke.”3
Both of these transhumance systems exploited areas
of volcanic nature. Dogana delle Pecore passed through
the Campanian inland which is rich in volcanic activity in forms of sulphur springs. The Roman campagna
and Etruscan landscape is extremely rich in sulphurous
springs and mineral waters of various properties and
temperatures. That the Romans were very interested
in exploring the curative and medicinal properties of
these waters is known from textual and archaeological
sources.
Curative waters
Vitruvius dedicated a great part in his book On Architecture to water and water installations. In a chapter on the
nature of different waters, he wrote: “As to the cura-
tive power of warm springs, the reason is that the water
being thoroughly heated in vitiated soils, takes up an
additional and useful quality. For sulphur springs refresh
muscular weakness by heating and burning poisonous
humours from the body.”4 Similarly Pliny, with the scientist’s perspective, states in his Natural History:
“Sulphur waters, however, are good for the sinews, alum waters for
paralysis and similar cases of collapse.”5
By the time of Augustus, thermal therapy had become
fashionable. The interest for this type of treatment is
abundantly testified by the numerous thermal buildings
and sanctuaries in connection with important springs all
over the Empire.6 Most of our source material belongs to
this period or later.
The area of Tivoli, ancient Tibur, famous for its water
cascades and luxurious villas, is also extremely rich in
sulphur. There were four lakes with sulphurous water
below the sanctuary of Hercules – the Aquae Albulae.
They were famous for their therapeutic qualities in antiquity. References in literary sources from ancient and
later periods indicate that these waters were commonly
used for curing muscular and rheumatic illnesses. In his
Geography Strabo wrote:
82
Curing the flock
protector of herds, both cattle and sheep, and his protection was invoked by shepherds.The presence of Hercules
in pastoral contexts reflects an economic situation of
capital investments and markets, the organized and civilized side of pastoral life. At the opposite end are gods
like Pan/Faunus and Silvanus who are associated with
forests, caves and mountains, the wild and uncivilized
sphere of the pastoral world.
Health and welfare of the flock
Fig. 2. Map of S. Cabral and F. Del Re from 1779. Lago della Regina
is the lake to the East of the ruins of the bath, the so called Terme di
Agrippa. To the south of the lake is the temple of Faunus and to the
north a shrine dedicated to Hygieia, goddess of health. From Mari
1983, fig. 5.
”In this plain, also, flow what are called the Albula waters – cold waters from many springs, helpful, both as drinking-water and as baths,
in the cure of various diseases.“7
Two of the ancient lakes can still be seen, their modern
names are Lago della Regina and Lago delle Colonnelle
(
(Fig.
2). Augustus is said to have cured his rheumatism
with baths from these waters.8 The so called baths of
Agrippa are however later and belong to the period of
Hadrian.9
The sanctuary of Hercules Victor at Tivoli was from
the beginning an extra-urban shrine. Archaeological
evidence indicates that the area around the sanctuary
was a resting place for migrating shepherds, as well as
a cattle market. These functions had remote origins,
certainly prior to the late Republican sanctuary. Archaeological material testify a presence from the Middle
and Late Bronze Age.10 A sanctuary was excavated at the
ford crossing the river Aniene in the locality Acquoria. A
votive deposit with material dating from the 8th to the 2nd
century were found and a base for a votive statue dated
the middle of the 6th century.11 The archaic inscription is
difficult to understand but it has been suggested that it
was dedicated to Hercules.12 The sanctuary was situated
by an ancient cattle-trail leading to the interior Apennine
highlands, today known as Abruzzo. This road was later
known as Tiburtina-Valeria. Along the transhumance
routes in this part of Italy the sacred places which testify
the cult of Hercules are very common, especially in connection with springs.13 Alba Fucens, which is situated on
this route had an important cattle market in the centre of
the town. A magnificent marble sculpture of the banqueting hero in mature Hellenistic style was placed in a
shrine next to it.14 This reflects the economic importance
of the pastoral economy, which in this area was based on
mainly sheep breeding. The hero and god Hercules was
We should assume that man, already from the beginning
of animal domestication, had acquired vast knowledge
of animal breeding and behaviour through experience
and observation. The insight into animal anatomy gained
by ancient man through sacrificial slaughtering should
not be underestimated. During these rituals, the meat
of the butchered animals were carefully cut into pieces
and distributed according sacred rules. Reading portents
in the entrails was an important instrument for augury
in the Near Eastern and Etruscan cultures. The famous
Etruscan hepatoscopy which consisted in reading sheep
livers was taken over by Romans who made it part of
their standard sacrificial procedure.15 Certainly observations were made which reflected empirical knowledge
at least on a parascientific level. Ancient Greek veterinarians also practised dissections, which gave much
information on animal diseases and pathology.16
The importance of the quality of pasture for ruminants was well known in antiquity. In his chapter on
pasturage, Varro wrote with deep empirical knowledge
on where, when and how to pasture the sheep.17 In a
beautiful phrase, Virgil has transferred into poetry some
of his advice: …
“let us haste to the cool fields, as the morning-star begins to rise, while
the day is young, while the grass is hoar, and the dew, on the tender
blade most sweet to the cattle.”18
The geochemical status of pastures is a very complex
issue even today and it is well known that sheep are very
selective in their choices.19 The health of grazing animals
is dependant on the quality of the herbs and plants and
their mineral contents.20 If the geochemical conditions
are good, the grazing grasses contain enough life-important elements in well balanced proportions and if the
pasture areas are abundant the sheep regulate a proper
intake by themselves. In antiquity, if the pasture was
limited, the shepherd drove his animals to good pasture
and in particular situations, when the ewes had lambs
or when the sheep were sick, complementary fodder
was given. In the Fasti of Ovid the shepherd sings to the
pastoral goddess Pales in the occasion of her festival:
“if my pruning-knife has robbed a sacred copse of a shady bough, to
fill a basket with leaves for a sick sheep, pardon my fault.”21
The health of the flock was of major concern for the
owners, which reflect the economic importance of these
investments. Bodson argues, in an article on the welfare
Barbro Santillo Frizell
83
Fig. 3. A sheep dip from North Devon, England. The circular swim
bath enables sheep to be submerged for as long as necessary without
holding them back manually. From www.sheepnet.iofm.net/pics/sheepdip2.jpg.
of domestic animals, that the constant worries about
animal well-being “was not inspired only by a search
for material profit” and “ inspired by philosophy, ethics,
religion, or by spontaneous feelings, people were taught
from childhood to care for animals, especially the tame
and domestic species”.22 I think that this picture, based
on philosophical and literary writings is too idealized
and that it does not describe the situation for most
people who depended economically on livestock. The
attitudes towards domestic animals depended rather on
basic economic conditions. Farmers and herdsmen who
were living very close to work animals on smaller farms
in subsistence economies, surely created very particular
bonds and feelings towards the animals. Ethnographic
material gives ample evidence for very close relationships between man and his work animals. Cows and
horses in particular, but also goats and sheep, were often
given individual names. The loss of an animal could
cause a great grief, comparable to losing a family member. The economic aspect should not be underestimated,
however. The loss of a she-goat could mean the difference between life and death for a small child. In the
large scale animal husbandry, such as the one Varro took
part in with his investments, the relationship between
herdsmen and animals was different. Being professionally involved with large flocks means division of labour,
which excludes the kind of relationship which was at
hand in a subsistence economy with few animals.
In his book on sheep breeding ((De Pecuaria), Varro
divides the discipline into four areas, pasturage, breeding, feeding and health. With respect to general health he
wrote:
“The fourth division is that of health – a complicated but extremely
important matter, inasmuch as a sickly herd is a losing investment, and
men frequently come to grief because it is not so strong. There are two
divisions of such knowledge, as there are in the treatment of human
beings: in the one case the physician should be called in, while in the
other even an attentive herdsman is competent to give the treatment.
The topic has three heads: we must observe the cause of the several
diseases, the symptoms displayed by such causes, and the proper
method of treatment to be followed for each disease.”23
Fig. 4. Sheep dip showing the stepped ramp which enables the sheep to
clamber out after the dip. From www.sheepnet.iofm.net/pics/sheepdip1.
jpg.
Here follows a list of factors causing bad health for the
animals, such as heat or cold, excessive work, etc.
“Other diseases have other causes and symptoms, and the man in
charge of the herd should keep them all in written form.”24
Further he writes:
“The head-herdsman is to see that all equipment needed for the
animals and herdsmen, and especially for the sustenance of the men
and the treatment of the cattle (medicinam pecudum) shall accompany
them.”25
The writings of Varro show that in his days, sheepbreeding on a large scale required a hierarchy of specialized professionals with strictly defined areas of competence. The head-herdsman, magister pecoris, had to
be a literate person with good knowledge of veterinary
medicine. There was obviously a distinction between the
competence of the head-herdsman and a physician since
Varro wrote that when it came to more complicated
treatments, specialized veterinarians had to be called
upon.26
Washing and dipping
In all sheep-breeding cultures the common practice was
to wash the animals in fresh water to get rid of external
parasites and to remove grease and dirt from the fleece
before clipping. I have not yet come across one that has
not practised it. How and for which purpose it was performed differed according to the given natural sources
and the waters that could be used. To use a fast-flowing
stream or a lake is the simplest method. The stream or
lake could also be manipulated by dams and channels
and thus creating artificial pools to facilitate the procedure. Ryder gives several examples from modern England, where special sheep washes were constructed.27 He
has several interesting examples of sheep wash installations constructed in stone and also in wood, a perish-
84
Curing the flock
Fig. 5. Sheep farmer Luigi Silvestri, Tarquinia. Photograph B.S.
able material, which is important to bear in mind as an
analogy while trying to reconstruct ancient methods and
techniques.
In addition to sweet and fresh water, various mineral
waters containing salt, alum and sulphur have been, and
still are, exploited in sheep-breeding economies where a
traditional pastoral life style is conducted. The following description is from Mongolia, where the herdsmen
who inhabit the Ordos Plateau, still practise this method
using strongly salted waters. The sheep are droven annually to the Salty Lake where the washing procedure
takes place. The washing is a collective enterprise and it
is a great event for the people who live quite isolated in
very small villages or habitation units:
“Several sizable pits were first dug a few dozen steps from the Salty
Lake. These were filled with water that flowed from the lake through
ditches. Grown-ups and youngsters, standing in a half circle facing the
lake, would fling any sheep they could catch into these pits. The salty
water, thick as sulphuric acid, would blister any human who might
fall in. This unexpected treatment terrorized the sheep which would
scramble out of the pits sopping wet, and let out a series of unending
bleats. A pitiable sight! The “bathed” sheep were then driven to the
desert to be scorched by the midday sun. The water on their bodies
soon evaporated, leaving behind salt, alkali and residue that would kill
all the parasites on the sheep. When washed by rain in a few days, their
wool shine like satin.”28
The word dipping is a modern veterinary term with a
specific meaning which implies bathing the sheep in
chemical solutions. It will be used here only for that
specific context. Dipping is important still today and
preventive dipping methods is still used in countries
with important sheep-breeding economies, like Great
Britain, New Zealand and Australia, and a variety of
chemical and poisonous solutions, are used. Today sheep
are dipped in order to eradicate parasites, such as keds,
lice and ticks. It is used to check the spread of mange,
commonly called “sheep scab” and also to cure it. Further it is used to prevent attack by the sheep-blowflies
and consequent infestations with maggots.29 In England
it is illegal not to treat sheep scab and therefore dipping
is a widely spread method, practised since 1850. The
dips are usually poisonous, such as arsenic-dips and dips
containing organophosphates, and thus potentially hazardous both to human and animal health. The procedure
must be very carefully handled, so that the sheep don’t
drink the water or otherwise get hurt.30 Various constructions are built to enable the sheep to be submerged in the
dips as long as necessary without getting hurt. The constructions are usually circular built basins with a stepped
ramp for the animals to clamber out. The man who
handles the operation stands on an elevated platform in
the middle to avoid to come into contact with poisonous solutions. ((Figs. 3, 4). Earlier, when these types of
solutions were not available, pastes such as a mix of tar
and rancid butter, were used. To treat animals with lime
sulphur is also a well documented therapy against sarcoptes and psoroptes-mites, causing “sheep-scab”. It is
recommended in all old handbooks in parasitology and
the therapy is still used in some places in the USA.31
In Italy, sulphur is plentiful. Its volcanic geology has
provided this natural resource in vast areas. In order to
understand if it was used in traditional animal husbandry
I decided to carry out an ethnographical investigation.
While asking shepherds of older age, who might have
experienced methods that are no longer used, my investigations confirmed the regular use of sulphur until recently, both preventively and therapeutically. One of my
informants is the 70 year old sheep-owner Luigi Silvestri
(
(Fig.
5), now stationary with his flock at the site of
ancient Tarquinia. He told me that he, as a young boy,
assisted his father in the movements of flocks from the
summer pasture in Monti Sibillini to the winter grazing
pastures in the coastal area around Civitavecchia. There
the animals were washed in the sulphurous springs
which abound in the area. When I visited the springs at
Ficoncella, Civitavecchia, which now are fenced in and
used exclusively for humans, I was told that some years
ago people brought their animals, in particular dogs and
horses, to the baths where the lowest lying basin was
reserved for them. The therapy was indicated mainly for
skin diseases and wounds. It was later considered unhygienic and now it is forbidden to bring animals there
(
(Fig.
66). A similar development can be postulated also
for earlier periods, i.e. that the animals gradually became
excluded for the benefit of people. It is clear that the
sulphurous waters have been an important resource in
traditional animal husbandry and their abundance in the
landscape offers an explanation to how it was possible
to keep such large flocks, as was done in the large scale
Barbro Santillo Frizell
85
Fig. 6. Sulphurous springs at Terme di Ficoncella, Civitavecchia. In
the soft rock natural basins are formed; stairs and ramps are added to
facilitate the use. Photograph B.S. Frizell.
transhumance economies, without constant outbreak of
epizootic diseases.
We shall now turn back to antiquity to investigate
the evidence for the use of similar therapies in sheepbreeding economies. The source material is scattered
and fragmentary but unambiguous. It is clear from the
writings of Virgil that sheep-scab was treated by letting
the animals into water:
”Diseases, too, their causes and tokens, I will teach you. Foul scab
attacks sheep, when chilly rain and winter, bristling with hoar frost,
have sunk deep into the quick, or when the sweat, unwashed, clings to
the shorn flock, and prickly briars tear the flesh. Therefore the keepers
bathe the whole flock in fresh streams; the ram is plunged in the pool
with his dripping fleece, and let loose to float down the current.”32
and:
“Nay, even on holy days, the laws of God and man permit you to do
certain tasks. No scruples ever forbade us to guide down the waterrills, to defend a crop with a hedge, to set snares for birds, to fire
brambles, or to plunge bleating flocks into the health-giving stream.”33
Since washing the sheep according to Virgil was a preventive method against scab the water must have some
specific mineral contents. What were then the properties
of these waters if they were considered having this curative power? The only natural choice are the sulphurous
springs and waters which abound in Mediterranean landscapes and which must have been an extremely valuable
resource for ancient man.
Treatments of the animals with sulphur for various
purposes is frequently mentioned by the ancient writers.
Epizootic diseases were a constant threat to the sheepfarmers. In the Georgica Virgil wrote:
“Not single victims do diseases seize, but a whole summer´s fold in
one stroke, the flock and the hope of the flock, and the whole race, root
and branch.”34
Native sulphur was used together with pitch, wax and oil
against psoroptic mange, which is “sheep-scab” and foot
rot and other skin diseases.35 The paste was smeared on
the infected parts. Sulphur was also used to clean stables
by smoking, which is reflected in the rituals performed
to the goddess Pales:
“Make blue smoke with pure sulphur, and let the sheep, touched with
the smoking sulphur bleat.”36
Fig. 7. Bovine hoof from the healing sanctuary at Manganello, Cerveteri. Photo B.S. Frizell.
In 1733 at Tivoli near the Acquae Albulae a votive stele
with an inscription regarding a horse being cured by
treatment in sulphurous waters was found.37 The horse
was not suffering from scab or other skin diseases but
from a wound and a swollen leg. On top of the marble
stele there are the remains of sculpted hoofs which show
that originally a sculpture of a horse was placed on it.
The inscription says that a horse named Samis had been
wounded by a boars’ tusk in Roselle and that the wound
made his leg swollen. After being cured in the waters of
Acquae Albulae, Samis was healed and could start to run
again.
From the inscription it is clear that medical treatment
in sulphurous waters was practised in Roman veterinary
medicine. One would assume that if you bring down a
horse all the way from Roselle to Tivoli, which is more
than 200 kilometres, the waters were well known and
had a good reputation for treatment. In this case it was a
horse, Samis, which was cured. Man related differently
to horses than to cattle and sheep. A similar inscription
would have probably never been written for a sheep
– even if a whole flock was cured from, let’s say, scab.
Healing sanctuaries
As we have seen, there is enough evidence from written
sources to support the hypothesis that sulphurous baths
were used in ancient veterinary medicine. We shall now
proceed to investigate the connection with these curative
waters used for the treatment of animals with sanctuaries. The unique inscription regarding the horse Samis
from Tivoli is significant. The waters at Acquae Albulae
were evidently sacred since the nymph Lympha dwelled
in them and she had also a temple there. On the map of
Cabral and Del Re (1779), there is a temple for Faunus,
situated close to the lake ((Fig. 2).38 The god Faunus was
the protector of the flocks and his presence indicates the
86
Curing the flock
Fig. 9. The shepherd has led his sheep to wash their feet in a stonebuilt fountain which captures a spring with mineral waters, Casalbore,
Campania. Photograph C. Livadie.
Fig. 8. In an idealized pastoral landscape a man is leading a goat to a
rustic shrine provided with water basins in front of it. Wall-painting
from Pompeii.
occurrence of sheep and goats. This might indicate that
also sheep and goats were washed and dipped in these
lakes, not surprisingly given the importance of Tivoli as
a cattle market and resting place for flocks and herdsmen.39 The earliest written document stems from 1363
where the pass at Tivoli is indicated as an obligatory
stop for tax collecting.40
In the Graeco-Roman world, a range of gods had the
function to protect the flock from evil and diseases, in
Greece, Apollon, Hermes and Pan, all important gods,
held this role. In Italy, particularly in the central Apennine area, Hercules was the god for herds and shepherds.
Their sanctuaries are usually built along cattle-trails,
markets and springs. Farmers and herdsmen offered
wows and sacrifices for their sick animals and also to
prevent misfortunes. In a study on the prayers for animals Bodson has shown that occasionally whole states
evoked divinities to protect the livestock from diseases
and made sacrifices. Epigraphic evidence shows that
animals, especially horses, could even be brought to a
healing divinity as Asclepios.41
Other evidence for sanctuaries in connection with
healing of animals is given by Strabo in his description
of ancient Daunia, modern Apulia:
“In Daunia, on a hill by the name of Drium, are to be seen two herotemples: one, to Calchas, on the very summit, where those who consult
the oracle sacrifice to his shade a black ram and sleep in the hide, and
the other, to Podaleirius, down near the base of the hill, this temple
being about one hundra stadia distant from the sea; and from it flows a
stream which is a cure-all for diseases of animals.” 42
The lowland of Apulia was the most important area for
winter pasturage at the end of the transhumance routes
which took the flocks from the mountains of Abruzzi
and Molise. Important markets and harbours were situ-
ated here. That the sacred area of Drium later turned into
a Christian sanctuary, the famous Monte Sant’Angelo,
is a logical development, given the original function and
the importance of this economy.
A passage in the Shepherds song to the goddess
Pales by Ovid, also indicate that the presence of sheep
in water sanctuaries was not unusual and should in the
light of what has been said above, be interpreted as an
intentional washing and/or dipping of the animals:
“Count it not against me if I have sheltered my flock in a rustic shrine
till the hail left off, and may I not suffer for having troubled the pools
(lacus): forgive it nymphs, if the trampling of hoofs has made your
waters turbid.” 43
Figurines of sheep, cattle and horses in votive deposits at
sanctuaries should be investigated from this contextual
perspective. M. Söderlind (in this volume) discusses in
his study on human and animal votive figures the reasons for their presence together in the same sanctuaries.44
The presence of anatomical parts of animals, in particular hooves, strongly indicates a veterinary/therapeutical
function. In the archaeological museum of Cerveteri is
exhibited a hoof in terracotta of approximately life-size
belonging to a bovine animal ((Fig. 77). It comes from the
healing sanctuary at Manganello.45 One of the most frequent problem with sheep and cattle was footrot which
brought lameness and it was prevented by smearing the
hooves with pitch.46 Preventive dipping would also have
been an effective means to control the disease. Today
a regular walk through a footbath containing copper
sulphate solution or formalin is recommended.47
At Methana, on the east coast of the Peloponnese in
the Argolid, a Mycenaean sanctuary with a most interesting deposit of votive figurines has been excavated.48 In
a small room ca. 150 figurines were found, all of which
except for one female figurine and a boat model, were
animals. Most were simple bovids but also driven oxen
and ridden oxen were represented. Horses in groups, or
single horses, ridden or driven in chariots, were plentiful. The composition of the votive deposit is unique in
showing such a variety of domestic animals in situations
showing them working for man. The animals, big cattle
and horses, are of high status and economic importance.
Barbro Santillo Frizell
87
Winter pastures
Transhumance routes
Fig. 10. Map of the Mediterranean basin with important tranhumance systems indicated, after Braudel 1986, fig. 7.
This is a significant feature in the deposit and has bearings on its interpretation. The excavator, E. Konsolaki,
proposes a religious context of transcendental character,
attributing this symbolic function to the animal figurines.
I think that the prime function of this sanctuary has a
purely utilitarian use related to animal husbandry. This
does of course not exclude religious connotations, which
are everywhere present in ancient societies. I interpret
Methana, which still today is frequented for its curative
hot springs, as a prehistoric healing center for animals,
the most important and expensive ones being reflected in
the votive offerings. All evidence points to this direction.
This explains also the isolated location of the sanctuary
on the east coast of Methana distant from the prehistoric
settlement on the acropolis, which has puzzled the excavator.49 Indeed the reason for its location must have been
due to the location of the healing waters which were
situated close to the sanctuary.
To conclude, with this different vision, new insights
could probably be obtained from other sanctuaries with
water installations, such as basins, ramps and other devices which could be investigated with these functional
aspects in mind. Our preconceptions are as always our
worst enemies. We have created dichotomies between
profane/utilitarian and sacred, between human and
animals, based on our own experience. As an example
we can look at a picture on a wall painting from Pompeii ((Fig. 8). The image is an idealized representation
of a pastoral idyll, a mode reflecting the diffusion and
popularity of Virgil’s pastoral poetry. The interest in this
type of literature and artistic representations during the
Roman period should, I think, in analogy with a similar
popularity for these motives during the Renaissance
and Baroque be related to the economic importance of
animal husbandry and its products and not simply as city
dwellers romantic longing for a paradise lost.50
A man is leading a goat to a rural shrine. The situation
which immediately comes to mind is an animal brought
to be sacrificed. But the scenery could as well depict a
sick animal being accompanied by his caretaker in order
to deliver a votive offering, a prayer for its health and a
dip in the healing waters collected in the basins which
are depicted outside the building.
To understand the importance of the preventive and
therapeutic aspects in the sheep breeding economy
extended collaboration with veterinarians is necessary.51
In Sweden in the 18th century veterinary medicine was
ahead of human medicine in several aspects, in particular the knowledge of the spreading of diseases, like
cattle-plague. For example, sufficient instructions to
avoid the spreading of epizootic diseases were written
down by the Swedish veterinarian, Tursén, hundred of
years before the nature of infections was known.52 The
treatment of the horse Samis at Tivoli was, according to
veterinary expertise, adequate even by modern standards – hydrotherapy in tanks is a method very much in
fashion today.53
The domestic animals were treated in proportion to
their economic value. Ancient man knew that the health
of the animal had an influence on the quality of the end
product, whatever it was: wool, meat or cheese. It seems
that veterinary medicine in many aspects was ahead of
88
Curing the flock
human medicine, which reflects the economic value of
the animals, the pecunia. Many of the sacred places with
particular healing waters were probably used for animals
earlier than for humans, as the prehistoric example from
Greece indicates, which shows the immense importance
of domestic animals in ancient economies.
The use of mineral waters, and in particular sulphurous springs, in veterinary medicine in association with
healing sanctuaries has not been given attention previously in studies of ancient pastoral economies. It is a
vast subject to be explored overall in the Mediterranean
area where large scale transhumance was practiced, in
Spain,54 Greece, the Near Eastern countries and North
Africa ((Fig. 10). Such an approach should enlarge our
vision of the complex nature of animal husbandry, transmission and exchange of expertise knowledge.
Barbro Santillo Frizell
Swedish Institute for Classical Studies in Rome
Via Omero 14
I-00197 Rome
[email protected]
________
Unless otherwise indicated the Latin and Greek quotations are
cited from the Loeb Library editions.
1
Traina 1988; Purcell 1996, 180-212; Horden & Purcell 2001,
186-190; Pratesi 2001, 139-159.
2
Pasquinucci 1979, 79-197, gives ample documentation of
Greek and Roman authors on the subject, archaeological
and epigraphic evidence and historical maps; Corbier 1991,
149-176, focuses on the legislative and organisatorial issues.
Regarding the Aragonese reintegration and periods up to
modern times, there are a large number of studies. Complete
maps of the Royal drove roads (the reintegration maps) and
documents concerning legislation and organisation are held
at Archivio Stato Foggia and Archivio di Stato di Napoli.
Regarding the transhumance systems of the Papal State of
Rome the documents are held in the Archivio di Stato di Roma.
See Vigueur 1981. For bibliographical references regarding the
recent historical periods, see Quilici, 1987, 141-164.
3
Varro, Rust., 2.2.9-11.
Vitr. De arch., 8.3.4: Omnis autem aqua calida ideo est
medicamentosa, quod in pravis rebus percocta aliam virtutem
recipit ad usum. Namque sulphurosi fontes nervorum labores
reficiunt percalefaciendo exurendoque caloribus e corporibus
umores vitiosos.
5
Plin., HN
HN, 31.32.59-60: Est autem utilis sulpurata nervis,
aluminata paralyticis aut simili modo solutis
6
For sacred contexts of water, see Edlund-Berry, I., “Hot, cold
or smelly: The power of sacred water in Roman religion, 400100 B.C.”, in Numen Adsit, ed Paul B. Harvey jr. & Celia E.
Schultz (forthcoming).
7
Strabo, 5.3.11.
8
Suetonius, Aug. 82.
9
Mari 1983, 295-296. There is no archaeological evidence of
a thermal building from the Augustan period and if Augustus
took his baths here, he must have done it directly in the lakes
or in some wooden device.
10
Mari 1983, 295.
11
Reggiani 1998, 13.
12
Coarelli 1987, 99.
13
Van Wonterghem 1992, 319-337.
4
Lauter 1971, 55-62.
Haynes 2001, 277-280.
16
Walker 1973, p.315.
17
Varro, Rust., 2.2.7-14.
18
Verg., G., 3.325.
19
Ekstam & Forshed 2000, 144-152; Hodgson 1990; Van
Dyne, Brockington, Szocs, Duek & Ribic 1980, 270-516.
20
At least 15 mineral elements are nutritionally essential for
ruminants. The macrominerals are calcium, phosphorous,
potassium, sodium, chlorine, magnesium and sulphur. The
trace elements , or microminerals, are copper, selenium, zinc,
cobalt, iron, iodine, manganese and molybdenum. Radostits,
Blood & Gay 1994, 1372.
21
Ov., Fast., 4.750.
22
Bodson 1986, 246.
23
Varro, Rust., 2.1.21-22. Quarta pars est de sanitate, res
multiplex ac necessaria, quod morbosum pecus est vitiosum, et
quoniam non valet, saepe magna adficiuntur calamitate. Cuius
scientiae genera duo, ut in homine, unum ad quae adhibendi
medici, alterum quae ipse etiam pastor diligens mederi possit.
Eius partes sunt tres. Nam animadvertendum, quae cuiusque
morbi sit causa, quaeque signa earum causarum sint, et quae
quemque morbum ratio curandi sequi debeat.
24
Varro, Rust., 2.1.23-24. Item ad alios morbos aliae causae
et alia signa, in omni pecore quae scripta habere oportet
magistrum pecoris.
25
Varro, Rust., 2.10.5 : Magistrum providere oportet ut omnai
sequantur instrumenta, quae pecori et pastoribus opus sunt,
maxime ad victum hominum et ad medicinam pecudum.
26
“All directions for caring for the health of human beings and
cattle, and all sicknesses which can be treated without the aid
of a physician, the head-herdsman should keep in writing.”
Quae ad valitudinem pertinent hominum ac pecoris et sine
medico curari possunt, magistrum scripta habere oportet.
Varro, Rust., 2.10.0.
27
Ryder 1983, 690-694.
28
Ajunga (Mongol), T
The “Sheep Bathing” Journey, http://
dawning.iist.unu.edu/china/ChineseLiterature.
29
Black’s Veterinary Dictionary, 18th edition, (ed. G. West), see
entries dips and dipping, p. 147.
30
The highly toxic sheep dips can also cause environmental
disasters, as solutions have been poured out in watercourses
with devastating consequences for the water environment and
much effort is being done by the authorities to control the use
of it, www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/environment/pepf-08.asp.
31
Dan Christensson, laborator in parasitology, VMD (e-mail
communication). In the Swedish handbook Den pålitliga hästä
ästoch boskapsl
boskapslääkaren
äkaren (The reliable horse- and cattle-doctor),
1847, 67, is likewise recommended sulphur for the treatment
of scab.
32
Verg., G., 3.440-450: Morborum quoque te causas et signa
docebo. / turpis ovis temptat scabies, ubi frigidus imber /
altius as vivum presedit et horrida cano / bruma gelu, vel cum
tonsis inlotus adhaesit / sudor, et hirsuti secuerunt corpora
vepres. / dulcibus idcirco fluviis pecus
omne magistri / perfundunt, udisque aries in gurgite villis /
mersatur, missusque secundo defluit amni; / aut tonsum tristi
contingunt corpus amurca, / et spumas miscent argenit vivaque
sulpura / Idaeasque pices et pinguis unguine ceras / scillamque
ellerborosque gravis nigrumque bitumen.
33
Verg., G. 1.268-273: quippe etiam festis quaedam exercere
diebus / fas et iura sinunt: rivos deducere nulla /
relligio vetuit, segeti praetendere saepem, / insidias avibus
moliri, incendere vepres, / balantumque gregem fluvio mersare
salubri.
34
Verg., G., 3.464-473: nec singula morbi / corpora corripiunt,
14
15
Barbro Santillo Frizell
sed tota aestiva repente, / spemque gregemque simul
cunctamque ab origine / gentem.
35
Radostits, Blood & Gay 1994, 1306.
36
Ov., Fast.: “caerulei fiant puro de sulphure fumi, tactaque
fumanti sulphure balet ovis.”
37
CIL XIV 3911, see Appendix by Kenneth F. Kitchell, p.00.
The inscription is now at the National Museum of Naples.
38
Mari 1983, 17.
39
This attribution, however, is probably influenced by a
comment by Servius (Serv. Aen. 8, 83), who located the spring
of Albunea (Verg., Aen. 8, 81) at Tivoli.
40
Quilici 1984, 159.
41
Bodson 1980, 149-164. See also Bodson 1986, 248.
42
Strabo, 6.3.9-10.
43
Ov., Fast., 4. 756-760.
44
See also Chellini 2002, 205.
45
Mengarelli 1935, 83-94. The hoof is not mentioned or
reproduced together with other votive terracottas in this article.
For other examples see Söderlind in this volume.
46
Cato, Agr.Orig., 72.
47
www.sheepnet.iofm.net/facts/illnesses.htm.
89
Konsolaki 2002.
Konsolaki 2002, 36.
50
Marino 1989, 15-35.
51
At the conference were invited two veterinarians from Sweden
Karina Burlin and Eva Örtenberg. I would like thank them both
for their participation in the discussions contributing with their
professional expertise. In particular I would like to thank Eva
Örtenberg for providing me with much useful information and
for putting her collegial net-work at my disposal.
52
Erland Tursén had the commission of Collegium Medicum to
stop the disastrous cattle-pest. He was active 1750-1765. E-mail
communication from Prof. em. Paul Holtenius.
53
See Appendix by Kenneth F. Kitchell.
54
Asking Dr. Joaquin Gomez-Pantoja of the possibility of the
veterinary use of curative waters in Spain where large scale
transhumance has been praticed at least since the Roman period,
he suggested several sanctuaries where this could have been
practised and where closer investigation should be rewarding
(personal communication).
48
49
Bibliography
Bodson 1980
L. Bodson, ‘La priere pour le animaux’, in L’experience de la priére dans le grandes religions. Actes
du Colloque de Louvain-la-Neuve et Liége
é (22-23 nov. 178). Louvain-la-Neuve, Centres d’histoire des
ége
religions, 1980
Bodson 1986
L. Bodson,, ‘The welfare of livestock and work animals in ancient Greece and Rome’ in Medical
Heritage, 1986, Vol. 2.4, 246.
Braudel 1986
F. Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world in the age of Philip II
II, Vol. 1, London 1986.
Chellini 2002
Chellini, R., Acque sorgive salutari e sacre in Etruria (Italiae Regio VII). Ricerche archeologiche e di
topografia antica (BAR-IS 1067), Oxford 2002.
Coarelli 1987
F. Coarelli, I santuari del Lazio in età repubblicana, Rome 1987.
Corbier 1991
M. Corbier, ‘La transhumance entre le Samnium et l’Apulie: continuités entre l’epoque républicaine e
l’époque impériale’, in La romanisation du Samnium aux IIe et Ier siecles av. J.-C.. Naples, Centre Jean
Berard, 4-5 Novembre 1988, Naples 1991, 149-176.
Ekstam & Forshed 2000
U. Ekstam & N. Forshed, Svenska Naturbetesmarker. Historia och ekologi, Värnamo 2000.
Haynes 2001
S. Haynes, Etruscan civilization. A cultural history, London 2001.
Hodgson 1990
J. Hodgson, Grazing management: science into practice, Longman handbooks in agriculture, 1990.
Horden & Purcell 2001
P. Horden & N. Purcell, The Corrupting Sea. A study of Mediterranean history, 2001.
Konsolaki 2002
E. Konsolaki, ‘A Mycenaean Sanctuary on Methana’ in Peloponnesian sanctuaries and cults. Proceedings
of the Ninth International Symposium at the Swedish Institute at Athens, 11-13 June 1994 (ActaAth-4o,
48), ed. R. Hägg, Stockholm 2002.
La Campagna Romana 2001
La Campagna Romana da Hackert a Balla (ed. P.A. De Rosa & P.E. Trastulli), Rome 2001.
Lauter 1971
H. Lauter, ’Heiligtum oder Markt?’, AA 1971, 55-62.
Mari 1983
Z. Mari, Tibur. Pars Tertia. Forma Italiae, Regio I, Vol. XVII
XVII, Rome 1983.
Marino 1989
J. Marino, ’La forma pastorale: produzione e ideologia’, in Studi sul Paesaggio agrario in Europa (ed. R.
Villari), Bologna 1989.
Mengarelli 1935
R. Mengarelli, ‘Il tempio del “Manganello” a Caere’, StEtr 9, 1935, 83-94.
Pasquinucci 1979
M. Pasquinucci, ‘La transhumanza nell’Italia romana’, in E. Gabba & M. Pasquinucci, Strutture agrarie e
allevamento transumante nell’Italia romana (III-I sec.a.C.), Pisa 1979, 79-197.
Pratesi 2001
F. Pratesi, Storia della natura d’Italia, Rome 2001.
90
Purcell 1996
Curing the flock
N. Purcell, ‘Rome and the management of water: environment, culture and power’, in Human Landscapes
in Classical Antiquity, London 1996, 180-212.
Quilici 1984
L. Quilici, ‘La transhumanza nell’Italia centrale in età moderna e mediovale come contributo alla
conoscenza di quella antica’, in Ambiente e società pastorale nella montagna Maceratese. Atti del XX
convegno di studi maceratesi. Ussita 29-30 settembre 1984 (=Studi Maceratesi 20), Macerata 1987, 141164.
Radostits, Blood & Gay 1994
O.M. Radostits, D.C. Blood & C.C. Gay, Veterinary medicine. A textbook of the diseases of cattle, sheep,
pigs, goats and horses, Eighth edition 1994.
Reggiani 1998
A.M. Reggiani, Tivoli. Il santuario di Ercole Vincitore, Milano 1998.
Ryder 1983
M.L. Ryder, Sheep and man, London 1983.
Traina 1988
G. Traina, Paludi e bonifiche del mondo antico, Roma 1988.
Van Dyne, Brockington, Szocs Duek &
G.M. Van Dyne, N.R. Brockington, Z. Szocs, J. Duek & C.A. Ribic, ‘Large herbivore subsystems’,
Ribic 1980
i A.I. Breymeyer & G.M.van Dyne (ed.), Grasslands, systems analysis and man, Cambridge, 1980, 270516.
Van Wonterghem 1992
F. Van Wonterghem, ‘Il culto di Ercole fra i popoli osco-sabellici’, in Hé
H raclès: d’une rive a l’autre de la
M diterranée, Rome 1992, 319-337.
Mé
Vigueur 1981
M. Vigueur, Les Paturages de l’
l’É
Église
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glise et la Douane du bétail dans la Province du Patrimonio (XIV-XV
siècles), Rome 1981.
Walker 1973
R.E. Walker, ‘Roman Veterinary Medicine’, in Toynbee, J.M.C., Animals in Roman Life and Art, London
1973, 301-343.
Kenneth F. Kitchell, Jr
91
Appendix:
On the Samis inscription
by
Kenneth F. Kitchell, Jr
Reconstructed Text
Debilis albuleo steterat qui gurgiti Samis
Articulum medicis ut tenuaret aquis
(Dente quod Aetrusco turgebat saucius apro
Et Russellano forte solutus erat),
(5)
Hinc graciles ubi iam nervi tenuisque cicatrix
Et celer accepto currere coepit ecus,
Dat tibi pro meritis semet de marmore bonum1
Fig. 1. The Samis inscription, CIL XIV, 3911 from Aquae Albulae,
Tivoli.
Quo mediam gaudes, lymfa, subire viam,
Tiburis adversae dominus qua despicit aedem,
(10)
Frontibus et pictis Aelia villa videt.2
T
Translation
Samis, the horse had stood, injured, in the pool at Albula
In order to decrease the swelling in his «foot» [articulus] by means of the medicinal waters.
For, once, when he happened to be loose, he was wounded by the tusk
of a boar B of Etruria and of Roselle B, causing his “foot” to swell.
Then, when his tendons grew supple and the scar grew faint, he
Began to run in a most gratifying way and now he gives
You, oh Lympha, in return for your good services, a marble replica of himself, a good thing,3
In the place where you delight in going under the middle of the road,
Where the Lord of Tibur that lies opposite looks down on your temple.
And the Aelian villa, with its painted facades, sees this as well.
92
On the Samis inscription
Comments on the Text and the Cure4
It is well to note that the inscription is written in quite
acceptable elegiac meter, more evidence of the esteem in
which the horse was held.
The nature of the wound, however, remains a bit of
a mystery. Samis was clearly wounded in the articulus,
a frustratingly vague word denoting the point at which
one thing joins into another. Thus, the point where a
branch attaches to the trunk of a tree or larger branch is
an articulus. Even a cursory glance at any diagram of
the structure of a horse’s leg and foot reveals that many
articuli offer themselves as candidates. Further, was the
wound in the fore limb or the hind limb?
Moreover, a nervus can, unfortunately, mean more
than merely “nerve” and is commonly used for tendons
and sometimes even for ligaments. Yet nerves in the
foot or leg area are comparatively small and less prone
to being helped by warm bathing. While certainty is
therefore impossible, it seems most likely that the blow,
delivered by a boar, would be lower rather than higher
up the leg and that a tendon such as the Digital Flexor
Tendon (roughly analagous to the human Achilles
Tendon) or the Digital Extensor Tendon (running down
the front of the foreleg) was damaged by the boar’s tusk,
swelling and stiffening as a result of the blow.
What then of the cure itself? Both heat and cold
are commonly used for such injuries, with cold used
to reduce swelling and inflammation and heat to help
stimulate blood flow to the area and decrease stiffness.
Hydrotherapy, both hot and cold, is commonly used, as
is massage.5
The cure devised for Samis is, therefore, not remarkable by modern standards. We can as easily see Samis
standing patiently in his warm spring as we can a
modern horse in its hydrotherapy tank. It is interesting,
however, that this sort of cure is not closely paralleled in
the ancient veterinary literature known to this author.
Several ancient authors wrote works entitled Mulomedicina dealing with equine veterinary science. Others,
such as Cato or Columella, included such information in
broader works on agriculture. I have studied the works
of Palladius (4th AD) , Pelagonius, Chiron, and Vegetius
(4th or 5th AD?) for information on leg injuries and use
of water in cures, and have drawn the conclusion that
the course of treatment devised for Samis is virtually
unaparalled in other written sources. This does not preclude, of course, that such courses of treatment existed
as popular medicine and were never preserved in written
form.
Many injuries to nervi are mentioned in the ancient
authors. Columella, a first century A.D. source for such
matters, and often utilized by the writers to follow,
is very close to the mark when he recommends that
lameness in oxen can be treated by rubbing the lower extremities with oil and salt but that swollen knees should
be rubbed ((fovenda sunt) with warm vinegar and that
sponges soaked with boiling water and smeared with
honey can be tied to knees (6.12.1f.). He comes tantalizingly close to Samis’ cure when he recommends (6.30.6-
7) that a horse with a sore shoulder can be helped with a
swim in a pond.
Palladius (14.12.5) recommends rubbing the knees
and knee caps of cattle with oil and salt. Surely the stimulation would increase blood flow to the area and the salt
reminds one of the salts in springs such as the one under
study here. Palladius also recommends rubbing with
warm vinegar (15.12.6), pitch, lard, and sulphur warmed
with a glowing bit of metal (14.15.1). Pelagonius (246)
recommends cauterization and oil, followed by warm
water, for nervi of the neck. In passages reminiscent of
Samis’ affliction (252, 257-58, 262) he deals with nervos
crassos and recommends several warm things to soften
the thickness but nowhere recommends standing in
warm water. In one place he does recommend walking
the horse in a cold stream if its knees have swollen due
to a long journey (263).
Chiron is quite interested in the articuli of horses and
advocates the use of heat-producing potions to loosen
them up and relieve pain (7.2.581-82; 7.4.587). Vegetius
also recommends having the horse swim but includes the
ocean or a river as good venues (2.45)
Such beliefs continued well into the Middle Ages.
Albertus Magnus, in his De animalibus, has a lengthy
section devoted to equine medicine. When discussing ficus, a growth that may be the same as angleberry, Albert
says the following (22.64).
Moreover, if by chance the spot is full of nervi, caution should be exercised not to bathe the nerve in cold
water, because the nerve itself is naturally cold and
is turned torpid by the water and putrefies. If it is
necessary that the nerve itself be cut, it is better to cut
it through rather than to puncture it or crush it with a
stone. For the very great pain of a puncture impedes
the healing process more than does cutting through
it unless it is a case of the large nerves which can not
be cut.
The cure for a nerve cut in this fashion should be accomplished with warm things and the spot should be
fomented with warm penetrating agents such as oil,
lard, and honey, all well cooked. A poultice should be
made from the powder of the laurel berry and cumin.
It should be mixed with honey and applied and the
opening should be kept open until all the pus comes
out.
If, however, the nerve is damaged by the blow
of a stone, or by the horse’s falling, or should it be
impaired and torpid for some other reason, it should
first be rubbed forcefully with warm water and warm
wood ashes, fomented, and have pressure put on it.
It should then be smeared and forcefully rubbed with
whatever warm ointment can be found.
But if the flesh is wounded and the nerve has been
struck and rendered putrescent, it is useful to apply a
poultice over the injury made of bean or barley flour
cooked with honey and wine until they thicken.
A poultice made of honey and the roots of dwarf
elder [ebulum] marsh mallow [altea], bryony [brionia], and lily, and bound over the injured nerve also
Kenneth F. Kitchell, Jr
does great good for this. Attention also must be paid
if the nerve is cut lengthwise or obliquely, for it is not
easily joined and will, perhaps, be impossible to join.
When, however, it happens that such an incision has
occurred, take the long vermin from the ground called
earthworms, grind them well, mix with honey, warm
them a bit at the fire and apply them with no other
intervening medication. This is of use.6
In summary, the ancients knew very well the benefits
of stimulating blood flow to the injured area with
heat-producing substances and equally understood the
rudiments of exercising the horse in water to take some
of its weight off the injured limb while still affording it
exercise. To this extent, the cure devised for Samis falls
well within ancient parameters. The expedient of bringing the horse to a therapeutic spring, however, remains
unkown to this author. What is undeniable, however, is
the affection that Samis’ owner had for his horse.
93
One editor suggests “donum” in a footnote, quoting Inscr.
Ital. 596.
2
One editor offers “nitet” (“shines”) which makes better Latin
but is probably indefensible
3
Perhaps: “as a gift” if we read “donum.”
4
I wish to thank Prof. Rex Wallace of University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, for his generous help with certain
aspects of this inscription. I am indebted to Dr. Elizabeth
Gatti, DVM, for reviewing the manuscript and for her insights
on equine anatomy and treatments.
5
An interested reader is referred to Stashak 2002, the standard
work on the subject of injuries to horses’ feet and legs.
6
Kitchell & Resnick 1999, II.1485.
1
Kenneth F. Kitchell, Jr.
Classics Herter 529
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Amherst, AM 01003
USA
[email protected]
Bibliography
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I. Ihm, Pelagonii Artis Veterinariae Quae Extant, Leipzig 1892.
Kitchell & Resnick
K. F. Kitchell, Jr. & I. M. Resnick, Albertus Magnus De Animalibus: A Medieval Summa Zoologica, 2
vols, Baltimore, MD 1999.
Lommatzsch 1903
E. Lommatzsch, P. Vegeti Renati Digestorum Artis Mulomedicinae Libri, Leipzig 1903.
Oder 1901
C. Oder, Mulomedicina Chironis, Leipzig 1901.
Scmitt 1898
J.C. Schmitt, Paladii Rutilii Tauri Aemiliani, Leipzig 1898.
Stashak
T.S. Stashak, Adams’ Lameness in Horses, Philadelphia 2002.

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