The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

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The Roman A rmy
tested at Housesteads. He died young, aged only twenty-five, and his gravestone
is notable for the portrayal of a hare in the arch at the top (RIB 1618). The hospital
at Wallsend was added to the fort in about ad 180, and it is not known if
the timber building that preceded was dedicated to the same purpose. The hospitals
were usually courtyard buildings with small light and airy cubicles opening
off the open central area, sometimes with a verandah running all round the
interior, though the verandah at Housesteads was removed when the courtyard
was flagged . It should be noted that not all the bu i l d i n gs of this type of p l a n
were nece s s a ri ly hospitals. In some cases, bu i l d i n gs inside forts that look like
hospitals may actu a lly have been work s h ops (f a b ri c a e) , wh i ch adopted the
courtyard plan and small rooms arranged all around it to provide light and air
for the metalsmiths and woodworkers who used them.
On campaign , the work of the m ed i ci would inclu de tre a ting those who had
f a ll en sick , but the tre a tm ent of wounds is mu ch bet ter doc u m en ted . One of t h e
best known manuals is that of Au lus Corn el ius Cel sus who wro tehis De Med i ci n a
in the early first cen tu ry ad , relying heavi ly on Greek work s . He wri tes abo ut dise
a s e s , ph a rm aco l ogy, t h era py, and su r gery. Some of his cures for diseases co u l d
on ly have incre a s ed the mort a l i tyra te , and it is not certain wh et h er the Rom a n s
f u lly unders tood con t a gi on and the ef f i c acyof i s o l a ting pati en t s . In dealing wi t h
wo u n d s , h owever, Cel sus ei t h er had valid ex peri en ce of his own or had ga i n ed
k n owl ed ge from som eone who had seen medical servi ce in the wars . He was
m ore of an en c ycl op aedist than a serving medical of f i cer, but nothing is known of
his life . Wri ting under the Emperor Ti beriu s , he could just po s s i bly have wi tn
e s s ed the many battles in Germ a ny and Pa n n onia du ring Au g u s tu s’s rei gn .
Cel sus wri tes in detail abo ut how to rem ove va rious types of m i s s i l e
weapons, recommending that if the weapon has not penetrated very far and has
not crossed large blood vessels, it should be pulled out through the hole where it
had entered. However, if the distance that the weapon has to be withdrawn is
greater than the distance that remains, then the best way to extract it is to force
it right through, cutting the flesh at the opposite side with a scalpel. This is not
recommended for broad weapons because it would create two huge wounds ins
te ad of on ly on e , so Cel sus de s c ri bes how to use the Di oclean c ya t h i sc u s ,
named after its inventor Diocles. This instrument had a curved end with a hole
in it, and it had to be inserted next to the weapon lodged in the flesh, until the
hole could con n ect with the point of the we a pon , and then the two could be
drawn out together (De Medicina 7.5.3–4). Celsus adds notes about how to stop
excessive bleeding of wounds and what to do to prevent inflammation; if all else
fails he explains how to amput a te limbs (De Med i ci n a 7 . 2 6 . 2 1 – 2 4 ; 7 . 3 3 . 1 – 2 ) .
Celsus was aware of the damage that lead sling bullets could cause. If they are
simply lodged in the flesh, then they can be extracted with forceps, but there are
problems if they have embedded themselves in bones or joints. He explains that
sometimes it is necessary to cut around the bullet lodged in a bone by making a