Newspaper Article

Getting to the roots of Soutra's old cures

Vickers, Judy

2005

Overview

Hospitals run by monks or canons were common across much of Europe in the Middle Ages, but Dr Brian Moffat, an archaeo-botanist who has been working on the Soutra site since 1986, says it is one of the best preserved partly because of its now isolated position and partly because the ground is waterlogged clay, perfect for preservation. Ancient botanical evidence unearthed from that thick sticky clay shows the canons treated conditions from depression to cancer. And, Dr Moffat says, the remnants of plants found there also show that the canons helped induce childbirth - which was strictly forbidden to their order - amputated limbs and even tackled the effects of cryptosporidium. As Dr Moffat says, there is much work still to be done as Soutra slowly gives up its medical secrets. \"There is a huge gap in what we know about the history of medical practice. Often the books were just telling people what they weren't to do. And we don't know how typical that 'pharmacist's bucket' is. Was this what they typically threw out every day or not?\"

• Publisher: National World
• Subject: Moffat, Brian